Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland

Incarnational Ministry

2011-12-25T13:59:00.001+02:00

Christmas may be celebrated world-wide, but in Swaziland it feels much different than it does in North America and Europe: The promise of snow is replaced with hot and humid days. The ideas of Santa Clause and Christmas trees and reindeer are largely unfamiliar. The pageantry and liturgy and traditions seem to be after thoughts if they are present at all. The holiday buzz is muted.

Even though many Swazis like to play Christmas carols this time of year, one cannot help but notice how foreign many of the themes are in a land of high poverty and oppressive heat: No one has ever seen a snow man or knows what sleigh-bells are. The giving of gifts is a luxury beyond the capacity of many. None of us can go “dashing through the snow” and there isn’t even the vision of what it would be like to dream of a White Christmas.

But despite all these things, people in Swaziland have the ability to grasp the true theme of Christmas in a way that very few can. Christmas, above all else, is about the incarnation. It is about Emmanuel – God with us. It is about God coming in the flesh to live among his people. Christmas reminds us that God does not come flaunting power and prestige, but rather comes in the most humble of circumstances to the lowliest of people. The omnipotence of God is revealed in the powerlessness and innocence of an infant.

The Swazis may not understand snow, or St. Nick, or presents stacked under a Christmas tree, but they can appreciate the incarnation in a very profound way. The idea of God in the Flesh walking among his people is incredibly profound, but it gains even more significance when one focuses on the people Jesus chose to walk. He came to be with those on the fringes, those who were broken, those who were utterly without power and those who had nothing to give. Emmanuel – God with us – all of us, regardless of our circumstance.

The concept of the incarnation is not just a one-time event that occurred a couple thousand years ago. Instead, the incarnation is about an ongoing promise and a revitalized way of viewing the world. It is about radical love that is lived out among the downtrodden and forgotten.

Hlobsile, a Cabrini nurse, practices incarnational ministry
as she provides training and treatment in the community.

The incarnation not only provides the reason for what we do at Cabrini Ministries, but it also provides the model by which we operate. Cabrini’s work is incarnational by its very nature. We work among the sick and the dying, provide love to those who have been forgotten, and offer our services alongside those whom we serve. Because Jesus demonstrated the need to go to the people, we try to do the same.

This Christmas season, we find ourselves renewed daily through service. Our clients and partners remind us that wholeness is found among brokenness, contentment is found in the midst of suffering and true power is found in weakness.

We would like to offer you, our friends, family and supporters, the opportunity to join us in the incarnational ministry of Cabrini Ministry. As God has blessed you, we ask that you consider blessing those around you. Jesus came to be with the “least of these” and all seek to live out the promise of presence in the days to come.

Merry Christmas to all, from the Cabrini Family.

Feast of Mother Cabrini Video

2011-12-14T14:09:00.001+02:00

As promised, here is a video of the celebration of the Feast of Mother Cabrini at St. Philips Mission in Swaziland. All of the groups that performed were either clients or staff of Cabrini Ministries.

As you can see, everyone had a great time and was excited to celebrate the lasting impact of Mother Cabrini. Her legacy lives through those inspired by her faith lived out in bold service.

Feast of Mother Cabrini

2011-11-29T05:58:00.001+02:00

The mission and work of Cabrini Ministries Swaziland has been shaped by the life and ministry of Mother Frances Cabrini. Every year, the entire community St. Philips Mission comes together to celebrate her heritage and lasting impact. This year, the Feast of Mother Cabrini was observed on November 12.

This year took on special importance as it represented the 40th year of service from Cabrini Sisters to the people of Swaziland. The Bishop was on hand to help celebrate the occasion.

Here are some pictures of the festivities:

Mass:

Feast:

Be sure to follow the blog as we will have a video of the festivities uploaded shortly.

New Video of Cabrini Ministries

2011-05-23T10:22:00.002+02:00

Please click below to view this excellent video made by friends at Cabrini College- and share with friends! (It takes a little while to load as the video is about 5 minutes long.)
Thanks to all,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Volunteers & Visitors: Anna Brice, Cabrini College Faculty and Heather Anderson's Fundraiser

2011-02-13T04:28:00.010+02:00

We like to collect stories and a keep a running photo-history of Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland on the blog, so here are some stories and photos from visitors we had last year.

Anna Brice, a Junior at University of Oregon, stayed with us for 10 weeks. Read her story below:

"With my goals set on medical school, I knew there would be so much to learn from working there. Not only directly medical things such as how to draw blood and treat wounds, but how, as a health care professional, to work in such a devastating environment. However, I was surprised to find that I was equally excited to have the opportunity to work with the children in the hostel. These children have been through things I could never imagine, and having the opportunity to simply put a smile on their faces was something I could not wait to do.

"Despite the fact that I was new, I was a foreigner, the entire community at Cabrini made me feel so welcomed. As I was accepted into the community, there were some interesting cultural things in Swaziland that I picked up on. One of which was even the people who know absolutely no English know 'How are you' and 'I am fine.' This always seemed weird, and at first I thought it was because people simply were not taught other responses, like 'good' or 'bad.' This may be true, but I found that many people truly are just 'fine.' The devastation HIV/AIDS and TB have brought to this society has been earth-shattering. Everyone has lost numerous friends and family members, and there is no recovery from this devastation; people simply move on.

"Much of my time there was spent helping in the clinic, mostly driving the nurses out for home-based care. This was where I truly saw the devastation of poverty and disease. Between giving patients daily injections and driving severe cases to hospitals, I was able to witness not only how the nurses provide medical care for a wide array of needs, but also how they were able to cope with all they were seeing. After dropping a patient off at the hospital that was HIV positive, had MDR and Kaposi Sarcoma, I hesitated as it began to sink in just how much pain this patient must be experiencing. The nurse I was working with caught on to my hesitation, and simply said, ‘We’ve done all we can do for him, and if you want to do your best to help the rest of the patients we meet today, you cannot dwell.’ This was a hard reality to face, but is one that I will keep with me for a long time.

"I was also able to see that these nurses are not alone in dealing with difficult cases – the clinic has truly made its own community. Together, they find support for dealing with the realities they must face every day, and I was fortunate enough to be able to experience that community for even a short time. Being new to the environment, they took me under their wings and helped me to cope with my personal difficulties, but more than that, between Braais and s’mores, they became my friends. Now that I am back, it is impossible to answer the question ‘How was Swaziland?’ There is no way to adequately express how much this trip meant to me, what I saw and how it affected me. The best answer I have found is simply to tell people, 'It was fine.’"

Beverly Bryde, a faculty member at Cabrini College, and five others from the college visited Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland, Beverly writes:

"As a Cabrini College faculty member, I was overwhelmed by the joy, spirit and life of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus as expressed by the work they are doing in Swaziland at Cabrini Ministries. Reflecting on my moments of connections, Cabrini Ministries is truly about restoring life and hope. The government schools in Swaziland are not free and Cabrini Ministries pays the tuition for their 120 children at the hostel to attend the government school on the mission. In every culture, we can understand how education is a hope for a child and for a nation.

"A special moment of the visit for me was observing the afterschool tutoring by the staff. As a story was read, the children talked about how they express themselves through dance. At one point the small group of children did a dance together as we observed them. The six of us from Cabrini however responded with a dance of our own… ‘The Hokey Pokey.’ Our dance needed work, but the moment was wonderful as it gave the children a chance to observe us and our ways. They giggled a bit but then joined in doing the Hokey Pokey themselves. The moment transcended our cultures and brought us into a space of celebrating our lives together….'that’s what it's all about!'

"One of last days on the mission was visiting the homesteads. This was the most difficult experience of the trip because you clearly understood the magnitude of the desperate living conditions. The families welcomed us on the straw mats and their homesteads had no running water, no electricity, no food and barely decent shelter. It was very difficult to comprehend.

"As we returned to the mission and walked around the hostel, I stopped to ponder the soccer game in the dry dirt field. There were about 20 kids playing barefoot and the field was marked by stick goal posts and dirt lines. They knew the game, direct kicks and all; it was a competition. It reminded me of my kickball days in the streets as a kid. It was fun, it was a good life, it was hopeful. And, that is how I felt for these children at Cabrini Ministries. They have hope, they have a good life, and with the education they are receiving, they can have a future…. That’s what it is all about!"

Finally a big thanks to Heather Anderson who biked 135 miles to raise funds for the high school education of Celamusa, a bright young man who has overcome many obstacles to succeed in school. Heather managed to raise over her goal and created a great travel blog where you can read more:

Cycling for Celemusa: Two Girls Take to the Road for a Boy's Education in Swaziland, Africa

Blessings, love, and big thank yous,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Mentorships and a Christmas 'Thank you'

2010-12-19T19:20:00.000+02:00

Hi Everyone,

We want to share some recent photos of some of our older children and send everyone Christmas blessings.

Recently we had two children graduate high school, and we had about 8 who finished their 3rd year of high school, which is a terminal point in the education system in Swaziland. Several of those children are those which we have sent away to board at schools for talented and gifted children. We brought them back to Cabrini to stay with us during the last 6 weeks, to provide them a small apprenticeship opportunity to build practical skills that might be useful in their lives as they grow into young adults.

The experience was a great success. The children that go to outside schools were able to feel part of the Cabrini family again. We go and visit them and support them but during school breaks they visit their extended family like the other children, so it was a nice chance to strengthen our relationship, letting them know that they belong to us and we belong to them, and that they always have a home at Cabrini.

The experience also gave these young people a very nice sense of working relationships with adults. The managers in all our departments- maintenance, agriculture, health care departments- were very much willing to take these kids on, even though they knew nothing, which can be more burdensome than helpful. But all of the managers were kind to the children and said, ‘Yes, I’ll teach them.’ The one-on-one supervision and direction, and a sense of belonging, made the kids feel good about themselves.

Colani has lost both parents. At Cabrini he attended our Bridge School- which is for kids that are too old for their grade to accelerate them through a few grades at a time. He just finished grade 7 and he’ll be moving into high school. Here Colani is working on a new part of the hostel that we are expanding into, learning to set bathroom tile.

Vusi lost his father at age 13. He went to live with his mother and her second husband, but the husband was abusive. When Vusi stepped in to defend his mother the husband threw Vusi off the homestead. Cabrini supported Vusi to apprentice at a private carpentry factory. He’s been employed as a regular employee at Cabrini, but in January he’ll be going to a trade school for carpentry.

Celemusa has lost both parents, but he is our bright light. He attended our Bridge School as well, and did so well that he was able to attend Siteki Nazarene High School, which is considered one of the best schools in the whole country. We are so proud- he is number 1 in his class. We’re expecting him to do very well nationally and have opportunities open for him. Here he is learning to put in a ceiling.

Fanana lost both parents, and was also a Bridge School student. Several of the Bridge School students ended up going to Siteki Nazarene which is real triumph, including Fanana. He’s been doing well.

Ronnie goes to St Philip’s High School. He is an average student but a very good boy. Here he’s learning to lay tile.

Aretha, Sikholiwe and Dumile helped in the hostel, cooking mealy-meal for breakfast and cleaning up. They learned how to cook for large groups and about good nutrition.

Ever since we have known Thobile, she has wanted to be a nurse. So Thobile volunteered in the health department, which she loved.

She was able to take blood pressure, blood sugar, and check in the patients. She was a big help and was thrilled doing it. The staff there were really happy with her work. We’re hoping that her scores on her exams will be high enough for her to get in to nursing school.

A few children also worked in our agriculture department, doing overall planning, weeding, planting, and learning about cabbages and chili peppers which are our two big crops that are planted right now.

All of the children worked hard and they seemed to enjoy the tasks. They also got much more one-on-one attention with adults, and they really liked it and responded positively to it. We trusted them with something special that none of their peers were being trusted with, and they really did a great job. As co-parents we want them to feel responsible for Cabrini and what they have been able to do here, and the work helps connect them to that.

Finally we want to send special Christmas blessings to everyone. We do the work here but there must be 1000 people out there that keep us operating. We are aware of that and very very grateful. People who connect us with funding, or share the good news, or work on our part to donate services, or donate $10- whatever it is- it’s all that together that make Cabrini Ministries function. The fact that these kids are growing and thriving is part of the thanks that we give. To the hidden people out there that are part of our Cabrini Ministries family we wish a very Merry Christmas!

Love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Write On Africa Mural Painting

2010-10-05T00:33:00.019+02:00

Hi Everyone,

We've been keeping busy as usual. Sr. Diane recently traveled to Geneva, Switzerland as an invited guest to a World Health Organization/Stop TB two-day meeting, consulting on community-based organizations and running effective tuberculosis programs in the rural areas of developing countries. In addition we hired a medical doctor a few months ago, and we've been recently nominated for a couple of awards.

We wanted to share photos of the recent visit of the group Write On Africa who created murals on the buildings here with help from the kids. The children enjoyed the creative activity and our buildings have been transformed into colorful, cheerful works of art.

Day 1- unloading the supplies (all photos courtesy of www.WriteOnAfrica.org)

Meeting and greeting

"Before"

The children enjoyed the opportunity to be creative with colors and shapes.

Everyone was very committed to finishing the murals in two days, especially the children.

"AFTER"

The text reads: "Let this mural be a window into a world of imagination, inspiration, and hope."

We are so grateful for their visit and all our visitors. Read their story on the Write On Africa Blog by clicking here.
http://www.writeonafrica.org/travels/write-on-swaziland/day-5-mural-day/

Blessings,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

A Wedding, A Funeral, and A Family Health Day

2010-07-11T14:13:00.011+02:00

Hi Everyone,

Here is an update on what has been happening at Cabrini Ministries in the past few months.

FAMILY HEALTH DAY– April 2010

Over 2500 people attended our first Family Day at the Mission. The message was ‘Stay alive to raise your children.’ Not a topic you would normally need in the Western world but here where HIV/AIDS, TB and hunger are taking their toll, it was an important message.

The day started at 7am and was supported by doctors testing for HIV, TB, blindness and other acute medical conditions. Even breast cancer screening and prostate cancer tests were done. Action Against Hunger provided nutrition and cooking demonstrations while others taught the benefits of male circumcision, a program which will be introduced later in the year to reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The atmosphere was wonderful as all the local people used the Mission as a centre to draw them together and support each other. Children laughed as they played on Jumping Castles, had their faces painted, played games and danced to music. The faces on Swazi adults and children alike beamed as they saw the local school's marching band and singers entertain them and regular dramas unfolded teaching all about HIV. The day was so successful that it didn’t wind up until midnight.

To see such poor people – in fact the poorest of the poor – arrive in their best clothes, so bright and clean with their beautiful white teeth beaming out of smiles, it is hard to imagine that they live on bare earth with no water, electricity or any worldly possessions. Everyone received a meal and for some it was their only one in many days. The first Family Day was such a success that the local people hope it will be an annual event.

FUNERAL FOR THANDIZILE

We are very sad to share that we have lost the first child ever to death under our care. Thandizile was only 13 years old when she died of measles outbreak at the Mission. She was born with HIV/AIDS, the same disease which claimed her parents and made her an orphan. Thandizile is survived by her elder brother, 20 years older than her, who is a herdsman in the district. Her brother tried to feed her but a herdsman is the lowest of paid jobs here and soon she found herself struggling to find food.

Just six months ago the Mission embraced her, with her beautiful spirit and will to live. She loved each day at the Mission with other children and knowing the care of the Sisters and ‘Aunties’ were strengthening her life. “The one gift we could give her in her hard life, was one full term of being able to live like a normal little girl, reasonably healthy, very happy and loved,” said Sister Barbara in her time of mourning.

The measles outbreak has already taken 17 people in the area- all were vulnerable because of their HIV/AIDS status which destroys their resistance to other diseases. Thandizile was the first to contract measles at the Mission. The Sisters quickly acted by having all students and staff vaccinated but not before the very sad death of little Thandizile. Our community was hit very hard by this loss.

SWAZI WEDDING
On a much more joyous note, there is nothing as raw and alive as a traditional Swazi Wedding- and it lasts for three days!

Two of our female Swazi staff, Philisiwe and Jane, were married recently. Each wedding followed the sound of Africian drums which echoed through the Low Veld and brought all the community together.

The first day is the gathering with dancing around camp fires where hundreds talk and chat. The numbers attending the wedding are hard to judge as it is quite normal to welcome ‘gate crashers.’ In fact there are no invitations, it is just who turns up for the festivities and banquet. By the second day there were many hundred of guests to see the bride dance with her lady friends while the men dressed like warriors and staged the ‘kidnapping’ of the bride from the village. This is a 4 hour ritual and wonderful to see. The beating of the drums travels miles as all the men dance a warrior dance to approach the camp. Meanwhile the ladies line up and dance to a steady rhythm to ‘protect’ the bride. By the end all the guests are dancing too and enjoying the mock battle. The ladies costumes are richly decorated while the men are covered in African furs and beads holding spears and shields. Hundreds of people dancing to the beat of the drums and stirring up the dust is mesmerising. It leaves you with the true spirit of Africa, the culture of hundreds of years of history and is something you will never forget.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Spring for Swaziland, NYTimes and Swazi Observer Articles

2010-04-19T22:44:00.004+02:00

Just a reminder, if you are in the New York City area- next Wednesday evening:

And thanks to Nick Kristof for his mention of the Cabrini Sisters in his op-ed piece on Sunday in the New York Times (yes, that's Sr. Barbara with the "lead foot"!):
A Church Mary Can Love

Finally a Cabrini Swaziland staff member wrote a wonderful article that was published in the Swazi Observer:

CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE OF THE NATION…..STAY HEALTHY
BY A CABRINI MINISTRIES STAFF MEMBER

How does a child grow into a person who becomes a good mother or father?
How does a child grow into a person who becomes a good citizen of the Nation?
How does a child grow into a person who respects himself and others?
How does a child grow into a person who knows that he comes from God and goes back to God ; a person who prays and struggles to do good?

It may seem like a simple answer but the beginning of becoming a mature adult who contributes to the common good of the Nation and the good of his or her family… is to have parents who direct and discipline a child’s life with love and concern.

In our Nation today only 21% of the children have both parents and all the rest are either double or single orphans. Even the single orphan is often abandoned by the remaining parent when one dies.

What does this mean for the future of family life in Swaziland? What does this mean for the future of the Nation?

It is truly a tragedy for the children of the Nation today and a disaster for the future of the Nation tomorrow. So many of the children of Swaziland are growing up disconnected….with no sense of belonging to someone who loves, respects and disciplines them…who teaches them the way to think, choose, behave in the normal situations of every day life.

Orphans, many thousands of them, are struggling to raise themselves with no sense of belonging to a family, a group, a Nation. They are learning that adults often take advantage of them, encroach on their homesteads, abuse them physically and sexually, or just don’t have time for them because the adults themselves are overburdened with mouths to feed.

Already the Nation has, by some estimates, more than 200,000 orphans…how lonely, disconnected and angry will these children be as they try to grow into an adult world with no skills of family and relationship….they will easily follow the example of those who have taken advantage of them and abused them in various ways. Are we moving toward a Nation of thugs? A nation of young adults without compassion and connection? A Nation of young adults with little sense of right relationship? Faithful relationship? There appear to be few answers for the children growing up without parents in these last 15 years..often alone or with overburdened guardians.

Are there answers for the children being born right now? A large percentage of the families and women having babies are HIV+…does that mean the tragedy and disaster of disconnected children must go on and on? In the area of the Lubombo lowveld where Cabrini Ministries works the HIV+ rate over the past three years has remained between 45 and 60% of those tested.

Is there an answer? Yes, I believe there is the beginning of an answer - PARENTS, MOTHERS AND FATHERS MUST TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR LIVES AND STAY ALIVE! What does this mean?

1. It means testing early and often even if you do not feel sick
2. It means getting to the clinic before you are too sick to walk
3. It means adults have to stop pretending that there is nothing wrong even when they keep getting sick
4. It means if you find you are HIV+ you decide that you will get the help you need, eat as well as possible, go on anti-retroviral treatment when it is necessary and live for another 15 or 20 or 30 years so that you may stay with your children, love them, teach them, discipline them and help them to grow into a good and loving adult like yourself.

Your health as an adult and a parent is not just a personal thing….IT IS NOT TRUE THAT ”MY LIFE BELONGS TO ME AND I CAN DO WHAT I WANT.“ Our lives belong to God, to our family and to the Nation. As a parent it is a responsibility that comes with parenthood to care for yourself, stay healthy, even if you are HIV+ or with AIDS, because your life is for your children…for their future.

There are programs and projects to help orphan children in Swaziland all struggling to do the best they can to help some of the thousands of orphaned children; there are school teachers with great compassionate hearts trying to help as many as they can of the many, many orphaned children they teach each day. These are good efforts and God who loves children in a very special way blesses these efforts. BUT NOTHING TAKES THE PLACE OF A PARENT WITH ENOUGH LOVE TO STAY ALIVE FOR THE SAKE OF HIS OR HER CHILDREN, NOTHING.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Save-the-Date for this NYC Event: April 28

2010-03-13T23:06:00.005+02:00

Hi Everyone,
A New Yorker who formerly worked with us at Cabrini Swaziland by the name of Katie McCaskie is organizing an event in Brooklyn on April 28. (Read the blog entry about some of Katie's work in Swaziland by clicking here.)

This event aims to spread the word about the child care program at Cabrini Ministries. (Please contact Katie by email at kmccaskie@gmail.com if you have any questions.)

Click here to learn more about child care at Cabrini.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

2010: Celebrating Our Five-Year Anniversary

2010-02-10T18:14:00.010+02:00

The Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart (Cabrini Sisters) have been serving the St. Philips area of the lowveld of Swaziland since 1971, where they came to bring the love of the Heart of Christ to the people. They did this through Catechism, developing healthcare, and providing skills training for adults. By 1996 they considered leaving the area due to increased development and improvement of life circumstances. Then came HIV, and everything changed: people all around were falling ill and dying, leaving their children and families behind. At that point, the sisters realized they had to stay- the need had become so apparent.

It was five years ago that we began operating under the name of Cabrini Ministries, having developed a focus of addressing the problems of HIV and TB. Since then, we have been blessed with the resources and opportunities to expand our programs to better serve the community, thanks to the generous support of donors as well as new grant opportunities.

As an organization, we have received positive recognition through various articles and photos in major newspapers, a TV interview opportunity, and our many colleagues sharing word of our work. Thankfully, these opportunities to spread the name and work of Cabrini Ministries have helped us improve and expand services while widening the net of potential donors, increasing rapport with ongoing supporters, and improving our standing in Swaziland.

Over the past few years, we have been able to progress from a sole reliance on individual donor funding to a more diverse mixture of private donations and grant funding. Additionally, we have become integrated into many of Swaziland’s national strategies and have become partners, working hand in hand with various governmental and nongovernmental organizations and agencies.

In addition to the exciting development we have seen within our relationships with other key players, we have had positive changes happening within the organization as well. Our staff has increased in number to over 40 local community members, with the staff becoming more knowledgeable and skilled within their respective areas of work. Some areas of staff development include accounting, human resources, database maintenance, and training health care paraprofessionals. Both the Child Care and Health Care arms of Cabrini Ministries have increased their capacity to provide for the needs of the area.

On February 5, 2010, we held an all-staff celebration to commemorate our growth over the past five years. Staff members were recognized based on the year they joined the organization, with special acknowledgement of the 26 employees who began working with Cabrini Ministries in 2005 or before.

We would like to publicly thank and congratulate the following employees for five years of dedication and hard work: Bongani Nhleko, Esau Bhembe, Fodo Mbingo, Jabulile Gamedze, Johannes Ngcamphalala, Khisimusi Mamba, Lucia Gamedze, Mathew Mkhaliphi, Mcoshwa Hlandze, Mkhawuleni Nkhabindze, Mkhumbi Shongwe, Nkosingiphile Vilane, Ntombi Vilakati, Ntombizile Simelane, Nxobile Mkhatjwa, Priscilla Mamba, Sanele Dlamini, Pius Siboniseleni Mamba, Sindi Nhleko, Sonnyboy Sikhosane, Thandiwe Mathunjwa, Thokozile Nxumalo, Zodwa Gama, and Zodwa Vilakati.

We will continue our celebration of the 5 Year Anniversary of Cabrini Ministries over the next few months, where you can expect to learn more about the advancements in Child Care and Health Care programming and join us in thanking some of our most committed supporters.

Without you, there is no Cabrini Ministries; thank you for all that you do that allows us to continue our work here. May 2010 be a blessed year for us all!

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Volunteers and Visitors: Caterina, Silvia and Selena from the Faculty of Medicine, Italy

2010-01-07T12:22:00.001+02:00

This message was sent to us from some of our visitors from Italy that we'd like to share with you. We want to also thank them and the Maria Bonino Foundation which has supported our work for health care and children. Here is the translation:

We are three Italian medical students, Caterina, Silvia and Selena, and we attend the fifth year at the Faculty of Medicine in Italy. We would like to tell you about our experience in St. Philips, Swaziland, with Sister Diane and Sister Barbara, from July 25th to August 10th last year.

This experience began when Caterina met Sister Diane in Milan, Italy. Caterina was in the nursing home Columbus to give some materials to Sister Diane. They didn't know each other before. Caterina works in the “Maria Bonino Foundation,” which supports humanitarian projects in Africa, especially within health services.

Caterina was really struck by the accidental meeting. In university she told her friend Silvia about the special person she had met. Sister Diane had told Caterina that visiting St. Philips could be a good opportunity for her work. Silvia was immediately affected by Caterina's enthusiasm, and she thought that it was a wonderful idea to go there. The decision to leave was immediate, and Selly, another friend, came with us. We took the last exam on the 23rd of July and we left the following day.

Sister Barbara was waiting for us at the Manzini Airport. She drove the van through the roads of Swaziland to St. Philips. Our first impression was astonishment at the gratuity and generosity of the Sisters' welcome for us. We were also struck by the amazing landscape, which is so different from the Italian landscape we are used to. We were stuck by the wide spaces, but also by the desolation: all around, just the “bush”, bare soil with tangled brushwood; above, a wide sky we have never seen before and a wonderful light spread everywhere. We thought we would find a village, but really, in Swaziland there are no villages- people live on homesteads. The mission is the only union point around there.

The house where we lived was very comfortable: this was another surprise! The Sisters had thought of everything: besides providing us with lots of supplies, they gave us a detailed program of what we could do during the week. As we are Italian, we are not used to such organization!

The following night we followed Jakonia to give some families blankets because in the night it's really cold and moreover the huts, made of mud and straw, don't have any other way of heating than fire. We were very astonished by the huts: it was night, the only lights came from the fire in the huts and the stars in the sky. For the first time in our lives we became aware of the beauty and the huge number of the stars- in Italy there is too much artificial light to see them- and the sky in the South of Africa is not as the one we are used to, it is like a huge bright cloak that surrounds and wraps in every direction. It's really wonderful! But we were particularly struck by the people we met, and first of all Jakonia. In that simple gesture of giving the blankets, he had a very impressive familiarity, discretion and care so that the people in the homesteads didn't feel ashamed.

We went in the homesteads to visit the patients with David, a very good nurse who works in the mission. It was an opportunity to get in touch with local people and see how it is important that health services take care of every single person in an individual way from the realistic and human points of view; it is often difficult for people to go to the mission to get treatment because of stigma or other reasons.

On Thursday, before the dawn, we left with Bongani in a truck to go to the homesteads around the mission to take people who needed to go to the hospital in Siteki. During our trip we got to know Bongani better. He doesn't speak a lot, but he gave much attention towards us and the patients- he is a wonderful person.

In Siteki we learned of the work of doctors and nurses there, and we discovered that in all of Swaziland there are just 80 doctors! It was a good opportunity to get to know Swaziland from the health and medical points of view: hygienic conditions are very poor and particularly they need a qualified staff, who can also teach local people how to take care of patients.

We spent our free time in the orphan hostel; we met the teachers Simo, Siswei, Mtula and many of the children. We shared with them the activities during the afternoon: English classes, games, wood harvest in the bush. We enjoyed playing with them and teaching new games, but above all we really became fond of them! They're very poor, but it's incredible to see how happy they are, and they really enjoy themselves!

We helped out in the new Health Care Center, then, in the afternoon we went to Manzini by jeep with five women, who work in the mission, to buy some materials. We had an absurd but amusing trip: we had some moments of discouragements, in particular Caterina was not used to driving on the left side of the road and was worried about the bad conditions of the road: we got up the hills and over the bumps just thanks to our prayers! In Italy the streets, the traffic and the way of driving are very different- you should come and see!

During the following days the Sisters asked us to clean the windows in the Health Care Center. We worked with the workmen and we became friends with Stadium, who told us his story. We were happy to talk to him and this was another opportunity to discover that just working together it's possible to transmit a different way to live, also to do the simplest things. It was very difficult to get accustomed to the African way of understanding group work and time, which is very different from the individual work in the West. As a matter of fact, we had to find a meeting point in order to cooperate with Stadium and the other workmen, listening and teaching each other. We experienced that the greatest help we can give isn't finished projects to improve bad conditions, but we can give our time and lives in a different way, working together cooperatively. We shared the greatest aspects of our culture, for example, the attention to detail, our notion of time, etc, and learned of the wonderful aspects of Swazi culture: happiness and optimism, even in the most difficult situations.

Especially we thank Jos, with whom we shared meals and a home for some days; he was our tour guide during our trips, and patiently dealing with our bad English he showed us many traditions of Swazi culture, helping us to learn of some aspects that are difficult to understand for us.

It was a wonderful experience, even if sometimes it was hard because, for the first time in our lives, we had to cope with a completely different culture. We learned humbleness and simplicity, and to trust others. When we arrived in Swaziland we intended to help and do the best we could, but when we left we realized that we received even more: smiles, stories, gazes, handshakes and hugs filled us with joy and made us grow in a way we couldn't imagine before.

This experience has lasted in our hearts, and now, back in Italy, we desire everyday the same beauty of living together happily, as we experienced in Swaziland. Meeting the Sisters and all the people, who gave us their time in the mission, was a real gift, and we thank you.

Selly, Cate, and Silvia

Here is the original in Italian:

Siamo tre studentesse del quinto anno di medicina italiane Caterina, Silvia e Selena, vorremmo raccontare l’esperienza vissuta a St Philips Swaziland con Sr. Diane Delle Molle e Sr Barbara, dal 25 luglio al 10 agosto.
Questa esperienza è nata dall’incontro di Caterina con sr. Diane a Milano, in Italia. Caterina si trovava nella clinica Columbus per consegnare del materiale a Sr. Diane, che non conosceva; Caterina infatti lavora nella fondazione Maria Bonino che sostiene progetti soprattutto in ambito sanitario in Africa.
Da quell’incontro così casuale Caterina fu molto colpita. Arrivando in università raccontò alla sua compagna di studi- Silvia- di aver incontrato una persona molto speciale. Sr Diane aveva detto a Cate che visitare St Philips sarebbe stata un’occasione per crescere.
Silvia, subito contagiata dall’entusiasmo di Caterina, pensò che fosse un’ottima idea.
Da lì il passo fu breve: insieme a un’altra compagna di università, Selly, decidemmo di partire.
Il 23 sostenemmo l’ultimo esame e il 24 prendemmo l’aereo.
Ad attenderci all’aeroporto di Manzini c’era Sr Barbara, con cui, in una corsa indiavolata sulle strade dello Swaziland su un camioncino che imparammo poi a conoscere bene, arrivammo a St. Philips.
Le prime impressioni furono tante: prima lo stupore per l’accoglienza gratuita e generosa delle srs, poi la meraviglia davanti a un luogo così diverso dal paesaggio italiano a cui siamo abituate.
Quello che più ci colpì del posto fu l’immensità dello spazio ma anche la desolazione: intorno, fino all’orizzonte, si estende solo il bush, terra brulla con sterpaglie di rovi, sopra un cielo infinito quale non avevamo mai visto e una luce bellissima a invadere tutto.
Ci aspettavamo di trovare un villaggio, ma in realtà, come abbiamo imparato poi, in Swaziland non ci sono villaggi, e la gente vive nelle homesteads. La missione è l’unico punto di aggregazione del luogo.
La casa dove abbiamo vissuto era davvero confortevole; un’altra sorpresa!
Le sisters avevano pensato proprio a tutto: oltre ad averci rifornito di provviste, ci avevano preparato un programma dettagliatissimo delle cose da fare nella settimana: noi italiane non siamo abituate a tutta questa organizzazione!
La sera seguente siamo andate con Jakonia a consegnare delle coperte ad alcune famiglie per far fronte alle rigide temperature notturne poiché le capanne, costruite con fango e paglia, sono dotate solo di fuoco quale fonte di calore; siamo state davvero colpite dall’ambiente: era notte fonda, l’unica luce era quella dei fuochi accesi nelle capanne e quella della volta stellata, ci siamo rese conto per la prima volta della bellezza e dell’immensità delle stelle - in Italia c’è sempre troppa luce per poterle vedere- e il cielo del sud dell’africa non è quello a cui siamo abituate, sembra un enorme manto luminoso che ti circonda e ti avvolge in ogni direzione. E’ davvero stupefacente!
Ma a colpirci di più sono state le persone incontrate, primo fra tutti Jakonia che, in quel gesto così semplice di dare le coperte, aveva una familiarità, una discrezione e un amore davvero grandi per le persone delle homesteads, senza far provare vergogna a chi le riceveva.
Con David, un infermiere davvero bravo che lavora nella missione, siamo andate nelle homesteads a visitare gli ammalati: è stata un occasione per entrare in contatto con la gente del luogo e sperimentare come sia importante che ogni singola persona sia curata e seguita in modo individuale dal punto di vista sanitario ma anche umano e assistenziale; la gente spesso ha difficoltà a recarsi nella missione per essere curata.
Il giovedì con Bongani siamo partite prima dell’alba con il solito mitico camioncino per andare a raccogliere le persone che nelle homesteads intorno avevano bisogno di recarsi all’ospedale di Siteki. Durante il viaggio abbiamo imparato a conoscere Bongani, che si è rivelato una persona stupenda, di poche parole ma piena di attenzione per noi e per i malati.
A Siteki abbiamo condiviso il lavoro dei medici e soprattutto degli infermieri: abbiamo scoperto che in Swaziland ci sono solo 80 medici!!
E’ stata un’occasione per conoscere la realtà sanitaria dello Swaziland: le condizioni igieniche sono pessime e soprattutto c’è un disperato bisogno di personale qualificato, che si occupi anche di insegnare alla gente del posto come occuparsi dei malati.
Il tempo che ci rimaneva libero lo abbiamo trascorso all’hostel; abbiamo conosciuto soprattutto Simo, Siswei, Mtula tra i teachers e molti dei ragazzi. Abbiamo condiviso con loro le attività del pomeriggio le lezioni di inglese, i giochi, la raccolta di legna nel bush. Ci siamo divertite un sacco a giocare con i ragazzi e insegnare dei nuovi giochi, ma soprattutto ci siamo affezionate moltissimo!! E’ sconvolgente vedere come siano felici e coi pochi mezzi che hanno a disposizione ce la mettano tutta per divertirsi.
Le sisters, viste le nostre ancora acerbe conoscenze mediche, hanno pensato di affidarci la realizzazione delle tende per il nuovo Health Care Centre; così un pomeriggio siamo partite alla volta di Manzini con una jeep dal motore un po’ scassato insieme a cinque donne della missione per comprare il materiale. Il viaggio è stato assurdo ma divertente: ci sono stati dei momenti di scoraggiamento soprattutto per Caterina che guidava, oltre a non essere abituata alla guida a sinistra era preoccupata per le condizioni della macchina: le salite siamo riuscite a superarle solo grazie alle nostre preghiere! In Italia le strade, il traffico e il modo di guidare sono molto diversi, dovete venire per sperimentare di persona!
Comunque dopo due ore siamo riuscite ad arrivare a destinazione: è stato difficile confrontarsi sulla scelta dei tessuti, diciamo che è stato uno scontro-incontro tra la moda italiana e quella africana!!! Con l’aiuto di una gentilissima signora abbiamo familiarizzato con le macchine da cucire- rigorosamente dotate di manopola a mano- e armate di molta pazienza siamo riuscite a confezionare le tende.
Nei giorni successivi le sisters ci hanno chiesto di pulire i vetri dell’Health Care Centre, e così abbiamo lavorato insieme agli operai e siamo diventate amiche di Stadium, che ci ha raccontato la sua storia. E’ stato bello confrontarsi con lui ed è stata ancora una volta un’occasione per capire che solo lavorando insieme si può trasmettere un modo diverso di fare le cose, anche le più semplici. E’ stato molto difficile abituarsi alla visione del lavoro “africana”, molto diversa da quella individualista e stacanovista occidentale, infatti il nostro lavoro è stato trovare un punto di incontro e una spinta verso la crescita di una collaborazione con Stadium e gli altri operai basata sul reciproco ascolto e insegnamento. Quello che abbiamo sperimentato è che l’aiuto più grande che possiamo dare non sia tanto realizzare progetti per migliorare condizioni critiche quanto donare il nostro tempo per costruire braccio a braccio un modo diverso di vivere arricchendosi a vicenda.
Così è possibile trasmettere ciò che di più prezioso c’è nella nostra cultura (come l’attenzione al particolare, la metodicità, il senso della fatica e del tempo) e assorbire gli aspetti meravigliosi della cultura Swazi: la felicità e l’ottimismo anche nelle situazioni più dure.
Un ringraziamento speciale va a Jos, con il quale abbiamo condiviso molte cene e lo stesso tetto per qualche giorno; è stata la nostra guida nei momenti di svago e, con molta pazienza per il nostro scarso inglese, ci ha spiegato molte usanze della cultura Swadi aiutandoci a capire ciò che per noi a volte risultava incomprensibile.
E’ stata un’esperienza stupenda e a volte dura che ci ha, per la prima volta, messe a confronto con una cultura completamente diversa dalla nostra, insegnandoci ad essere umili e ad entrare in punta di piedi in un mondo, spesso per noi difficile persino da immaginare, che ci ha trasmesso l’importanza della semplicità e della fiducia nel prossimo.
Siamo partite con l’intenzione di aiutare il più possibile ma, una volta tornate, ci siamo rese conto di aver ricevuto molto di più..i sorrisi,le storie, gli sguardi, le strette di mano e gli abbracci ci hanno riempito il cuore e ci hanno fatto crescere come non credemmo possibile.
Tornando in Italia desideriamo che questa esperienza non resti una parentesi isolata, ma che la bellezza dello stare insieme per un progetto e un ideale più grandi continui anche qui in Italia nella nostra quotidianità. L’incontro con le sisters soprattutto, ma anche con tutte le persone che ci hanno dedicato il loro tempo nella missione è stato un dono grandissimo per il quale non possiamo fare altro che ringraziare.

Selly Cate Silvia

Thank you!

2009-11-21T17:01:00.011+02:00

We wanted to thank everyone who participated in the Sponsor-A-Child Fundraiser (it was a success!) and to give a general thank you for those who have supported us in the past year. It's very humbling to think how good people have been and of the help that has been offered.

Here are some photos from the Chicago event:

Here is a photo of Sr. Barbara, Mzamo and Thandiwe visiting the St. Cabrini Nursing Home in Dobbs Ferry on the Hudson River:

Mzamo started out working in the hostel, and is now in training be the human resources manager for Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland. Thandiwe is the director of health care at Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland.

We wanted to share with you the story of one child at Cabrini who is sponsored, to illustrate what the sponsorship does for a young person.

This is Fanana. Both of his parents died, and when we discovered him he was living on the homestead of his father's second wife. He was no blood relation to the family where he was living, and in Swazi tradition, blood relatives come first in importance for getting basic needs met and having any kind of social status, especially in families that are overburdened and stressed by illness and poverty. The family was physically abusive to him, renting him out as a cow-herder, and when he was found by our staff he was actually pulling a hand plow (that animals like donkeys usually pull) and was physically beaten if he wasn't pulling it fast enough.

He came to live in the hostel in 2002. Almost all of our kids are malnourished when they arrive, and many have not been in school. He didn't have much schooling- he had started school (first grade) in 2002 as an older student, and that is difficult for a student's self-esteem. At Cabrini, Fanana was one of the first kids to participate in our Bridge School program, which is an intensive afterschool program for older children to accelerate their learning in order to catch up and be in the grade they should be for their age group. He completed grades 5, 6, and 7 in the year 2007. We also helped him reconnect with other family members so he has much better family involvement now, with blood relatives on a more stable homestead. They can be more involved in his life, because his needs are being met.

Now he is attending what is considered a very good boarding school. We have family meetings three times a year, where we meet with the hostel children's remaining family members for a business-type meeting, and also a presentation from the children such as dancing, skits, and speeches, and we host a barbeque. We had the kids who were sent away to boarding school come because they're very good students, so Fanana got in front of everyone talking in Siswati about his experience. Then in perfect English (which is a huge, amazing thing) he said, "For the benefit of my friends here in this room who do not speak Siswati, I will now repeat everything I just said in English." He was so grown-up in the way that he did it, and he went on to say that he had gotten many opportunities from Cabrini, and that even though he was going to a school where there were a lot more privileged children, he said he wasn't identifiable as an orphan. Cabrini had made sure he had clothes that made him look like a peer, and money for books and such, so he wasn't stigmatized as different. And probably most of the kids don't even really realize that he is an orphan. This is what a sponsorship gives to this child.

Fanana is an example of a young person who today would likely still be a cow-herder with not many other opportunities if it wasn't for Cabrini and his sponsorship. He was a smart child who had so much more potential than that. He has made it into his second year of high school, and he will continue to make it; he's blossomed into a natural leader. He also grew several inches taller this year. Without bridge school, he would still be in primary school. In a class of 90 he was ranked #10, so he's doing very well. And he will go to college. A success story thanks to sponsorship.

If you'd like to sponsor a child, please visit: http://www.cabrinifoundation.org/Involved/sponsor.html

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the U.S. and thank you for your support!

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Sponsor A Child

2009-09-02T12:59:00.011+02:00

Hi Everyone,

On Sunday November 1 at Ben Lenz's studio in Chicago, a benefit event for the Sponsor-A-Child Program will be held in the afternoon. (More on this later- we hope to see you soon!)

Our Sponsor-A-Child Program is the focus of the event as well as our overall fundraising lately, because we currently have a large group of children that are still unsponsored and need your help. Three of those children's stories are featured below to illustrate why they need sponsorship, what sponsorship provides, and what it means for the child.

Khululiwe is a double orphan (meaning both parents have died) who was brought to our attention by former Cabrini staff member Simo. At the time, Simo was a member of a community service youth group that was started by a Cabrini Mission Corps volunteer. On a homestead visit, Simo and his group found an orphaned and very sick little girl, only 5 or 6 years old. Simo asked Cabrini to take her in to the hostel, and he kindly offered to pay her school fees (though he was only a young man who was trying to take care of himself and his own family). He also asked his mother for permission to bring Khululiwe into their homestead as a family member. The homestead accepted her, which is no small thing in such resource-limited settings- it is a great act of kindness. (Simo is now studying to be a teacher.)

When Khululiwe came to live at the Cabrini hostel, we first treated terrible sores on her head that were infected, and we discovered she had very bad tuberculosis, she was HIV positive, and she was dying. We worked with Good Shepherd Hospital to get her on ARVs and TB medicine, and she gets full medical treatment through Cabrini, which means once-a-month checkups plus treating any other opportunistic problems as needed. We are proud to report that her health has been restored. She's got a lot of personality, she is very good about taking care of herself and taking her medications, and she teaches the other kids about HIV.

Recently we helped her find her father's family, which in Swazi culture is where she belongs, to really be rooted and have hope for her future. She is now in her last year of primary school. Under the care of Cabrini, she's gotten her health back, she has a promising future to continue on in secondary school, and she is getting re-established with her family and the local area where she comes from. Also, we aim to take the burden off of those families that are good enough to take orphans in, providing material resources and a lot of psychosocial support, so the children are accepted much more deeply as a real member of the family. Whenever children go home, we make sure there is enough food and resources for their homestead and themselves.

Khululiwe is a child that was dying and was given new life. If it hadn't been for the intervention of this young man, reaching out, making a connection with Khululiwe and taking her under his wing, this little girl would have been dead. We strive to continue helping her strengthen her relationships with family, and to continue to provide her with healthcare. It's sponsorship that allows us to do these things. Sponsorship includes shelter, clothing, food, school fees, healthcare, as well as making connections with the child's extended families, supporting social activities, games, psychosocial and mental health support ... whatever is needed to raise the child. Whatever the child needs to live and thrive, Cabrini tries to give.

Tanele is also a double orphan. She calls Menzi her brother (the little boy from the previous blog post from Von), because they have the same last name, and in Swaziland everyone with the same last name is your brother or sister, but they are not related in the way Americans think of themselves as related. For us it is a great sign that she's found a bit of a family at Cabrini.

Tanele is the youngest of 6 children. About three years ago, her twenty-year-old sister died, then months later, her mother died. Her father was a Mozambiquan refugee from the war in Mozambique and had abandoned the homestead. The head-of-household became a 22 year-old sister, who had three children of her own. This sister's husband died, and she was likely HIV positive. So when Tanele's mother died, we brought her, her second youngest sister and two brothers in the hostel, because there was too much stress and burden for the eldest sister to deal with. The only money the sister had was from cutting sugarcane, which is seasonal, very difficult, dehumanizing work.

Tanele has a lot of energy, she dances and sings, she's a beautiful little girl, and she's very smart. At Cabrini she is able to get academic stimulation. We run an afterschool program that she is part of. She's not even in preschool yet, but we have staff that engage in structured educational activities with these kids, such as teaching them their letters, etc. When everyone on a homestead is sick and barely surviving to do anything, children get no early stimulation and their interactions are very limited. So here she is in an environment that stimulates curiosity and learning, and helps her in building relationships.

With children who have experienced such trauma of death and poverty, first you must provide security, safety and basic needs- food every day, shelter, healthcare, and love to help them out of the survival mode of scavenging and taking care of themselves. We feel that the best gift we can give is to allow a child to be a child. When they no longer have to lay awake and worry if they're going to eat, if they have to fight... they can be kids.

Bonakele is a teenager, in her third year of secondary school, and has been a double orphan since 2003. She and her two young siblings came to live at the Cabrini hostel in January 2004. The third year of secondary school in Swaziland is like the last year of junior high in the US. We would really love to help her go to one of the better high schools because she's very smart and tremendously responsible.

When she came to Cabrini in 2004, her younger sisters were aged two and three, and she was very attentive, like a mother, at a very young age. She's an incredibly nice young lady who deserves an opportunity. Good schools are very expensive here because there's a boarding fee. In addition, most teenagers need guidance to help them find a good school, apply, and work out the details of attending. We act like a capable parent in that role, helping the child to achieve things that their socio-cultural class ordinarily wouldn't let them access.

Bonakele has real potential to go to University and help her family rise out of the trenches of poverty, if she goes to a good high school and is prepared well for her exams. At these schools for example they speak English all the time, so that helps them pass the English part of the exam, one of the most difficult for students to pass.

Part of sponsorship, in addition to the medical care, food, clothing, etc., is monitoring children's progress in school, and, particularly for teenagers, seeking out opportunities to capitalize on their potential on a very individual basis. Bonakele is one of the children we hope to support to get into a good high school, because she has the capacity and potential to take advantage of it. Let us not forget that so many of these children are severely traumatized. Bonakele lost both of her parents at 12 years old, within months of each other. To show any type of achievement in school with both parents tragically dying is a struggle. But she is a standout. She's worked very hard at her studies and benefited from the afterschool program as well. We hope with sponsorship to support her and guide her towards opportunity and new life.

Here is the link to sponsor a child- please sign up today!:

http://www.cabrinifoundation.org/Involved/sponsor.html

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Visitor Von Shade-Zeldow Shares Her Experience at Cabrini Ministries Swaziland

2009-08-11T10:01:00.001+02:00

Hi Everyone,
We wanted to share with you a piece written by Von Shade-Zeldow, from our Chicago-area Cabrini community, who just returned to the US after spending six weeks with us here in Swaziland, sharing her skills as a clinical psychologist to help children and staff. We deeply thank you Von for your visit and your great work here.

Von writes:

"I have just completed an amazing and powerful journey to Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland. Sisters Barbara and Diane were my supportive guides and directors of my experience as I dove into the world of orphaned and vulnerable children, hostel workers responsible for their care, and a healthcare team who protect and nurture hundreds of families in the lowveldt.

"As a clinical psychologist volunteering my skills and time (and supported generously by my employers in Chicago, Illinois- CINN Foundation and CINN Medical Group), I arrived in St. Philip’s with an open heart and great enthusiasm. I left six weeks later enriched by relationships with adults and children who helped me more fully appreciate the gifts in my life and the power of the human spirit to struggle for survival, health and a most rudimentary existence. My contributions were small (but hopefully sustainable) during such a short stay, but I relish the idea of returning to take up where I left off, in building a world just a bit better than before.

"On days when the “bigger picture” loomed (What will become of this country? Can people continue to rally in a landscape so desolate? Will deaths from AIDS and TB ever slow?), I reminded myself of the incredible efforts right before my eyes: 155 children who sleep safely and comfortably in beds each night and who have nourishment to face the next day, education and homeland documents provided to ensure each child is documented as a full Swazi citizen and landowner, hundreds of families served in the bush with healthcare, support, food and medication to survive the threats of illness and death, and a staff of 45 employed from the local area to help build this environment of caring and concern. In just a meager five years, Sisters Barbara and Diane have confronted the ills and consequences of a twenty-year drought and the ravaging effects of HIV/AIDS, while always remaining respectful of Swazi traditions and their importance to those they serve.

"During my stay at the mission, I worked with staff on two fronts. My time with the hostel workers who oversee the childrens’ lives each day was focused on teaching new skills, with the goal of creating for them a greater understanding of child development and the meaning and expression of loss in this vulnerable population. Staff are dedicated but have had significant ongoing challenges in their own lives prior to coming to work at Cabrini. Hence, they often have minimal skills and experiences to draw on in handling childrens’ misbehavior, sadness and need for comfort and praise. Our language barrier at times created humorous situations we will all remember. Swazi culture as a whole does not encourage open expression of positive feelings, but we worked hard to share together enough for all to see that there is always more to give should one choose to do so.

"Secondly, I was involved with the healthcare team whose responsibilities bring them to constantly confront chronic illness and death in Swazis of all ages. They are a compassionate and dedicated group of professionals who rarely if ever acknowledge the intense stress inherent in their work each day. Encouraging them to feel it was okay to share their emotions and fears, helping them to see that each and every one of them felt very similarly about their work and their patients, and giving them an outlet to grieve together and separately was a challenging task. Most importantly, these efforts will hopefully continue with the assistance of a state facilitator now available to programs providing healthcare. While everyone knew 'stress' as a concept when I arrived, staff as a group were unable to imagine they could have an impact in reducing the effects of stress in their lives. It was humbling to be a part of the process to empower them individually to care for themselves as well as families in the lowveldt.

"Quite by accident I fell in love with a three-year-old little boy named Menzi who was literally rescued one year ago from a homestead where he was found malnourished, developmentally delayed and near death. Today he is engaging, happy and playful. Nonetheless, when I met him, he was echolalic, repeating whatever phrases or words said to him in siSwati or English. Daily Menzi and I took walks where we spoke only English and improved his vocabulary one word at a time. I struggled to find ways to make words into responsive conversation, assuming I was getting nowhere (and having no professionals to guide by instincts). Several days before I left Swaziland, I said 'How are you?' to Menzi (to which he had always echoed 'how are you?'). He looked at me and said 'I’m fine'! I literally threw him up into the air – scaring both of us, I’m sure – and we fell into laughter the power of which cannot possibly be re-created. Each day afterward, we continued to make progress slowly. I dream that he has made progress in leaps and bounds and will someday have lots of conversations with me again. I miss him immensely.

"As a part of my experience in working with the women who are the daily caregivers for the children, I sat in on the yearly case conferences, meetings conducted to provide feedback to guardians from the homesteads and to update mission staff with any new circumstances which might affect the children in their care. As the conferences were conducted in siSwati, the staff would provide me with written summaries in English from the prior year’s meetings. Family members (often only distantly-related to the children if related at all) would arrive from many kilometers away to participate in this experience. At first, the histories struck me as so tragic as to be unlikely to have actually happened. Then it became painfully obvious that there was not one history to be told which was not marked by early loss, hunger and sadness. Early trauma and abuse were common threads of experience and not unusual events as I had once thought. It stirs my heart to know these children have found a safe haven. The dedication, caring and determination of Sisters Barbara and Diane and all their staff who join together to provide a better world for these beautiful lives in the bush of Swaziland are an inspiration to all who are touched by them."

Blessings & love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission: Women Need Our Support

2009-05-22T18:16:00.001+02:00

Yesterday, the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition released a report about prevention of vertical transmission, or prevention of transmission of the HIV virus from an HIV-positive mother to her child (available at www.itpcglobal.org).

Transmission of the HIV virus from mother to baby can occur during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or breastfeeding. However, there is a triple-dose combination medicine available in places such as the US and Europe that prevents close to 100% of all transmissions if the mother takes it correctly. Most women in the developed world have access to the medicine and to health care services, so vertical transmission has been virtually eliminated there- one of AIDS' few success stories.

Yet in the developing world (such as Swaziland), the story is very different: only a third of women in the developing world are given any drug to prevent vertical transmission at all. The highly effective drug is only available to about 8% of these women; a different less expensive single-dose medicine is given that is only about 40% effective. Stephen Lewis (former UN Special Envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa) and Paula Donovan, co-directors of AIDS-Free World (www.aids-freeworld.org) and writers of the preface to the report, call this "a shameful example of double standards." And, these numbers are far from the 'universal access' goals that UNAIDS, the G8 countries, and other agencies were trying to achieve by 2010.

The report presented on-the-ground research from six countries about the barriers women face in accessing these health services, and criticized global and national programs for failing to ensure newborns and their mothers receive appropriate treatment and care. It illustrated that the emphasis is put on keeping babies alive and not following up with women, who must be put at the center on this issue.

In our experience, we agree, the response on this issue has been a failure, and the barriers that were identified in the countries in this report ring very true in this community. There are programs available that would work to prevent HIV in the child if the mother went to the clinic regularly and followed the instructions for treatment. It is not necessarily so simple for women to do that, and we agree it is critical to identify and respond to the sociological reasons why.

Many people say the prevention of vertical transmission program here has been a success, but their measure of success is if a pregnant HIV+ woman is given the prophylactic medicine when her child is born. This may mean the mother went without treatment for her own HIV, the baby and mother went without prenatal or follow-up care, no care was provided for the rest of the family, and no information about HIV prevention or reproductive health was provided to this woman. Also, this woman may have been handed the prophylactic medicine to take during delivery, but no one knows if she even took it or not (and in many cases she does not) because there is no follow-up with the mother. And women are delivering their babies on the homestead (meaning often in a mud hut, with no running water, electricity, supplies or health care workers), because they can't afford the hospital transport fees. Sometimes, mothers and their babies suffer and die this way, and it is tragic, for many reasons but one because it is preventable.

If a woman manages to obtain the medicine, she may not take it because she may be trying to hide her HIV+ status from a mother-in-law or husband (often authorities on the homestead) who can decide to throw her out of their home if they find out. Also violence against women is pervasive and constant, and as the report shows, is a real barrier to HIV+ women accessing health services.

We have realized that a community-based comprehensive care approach, which truly takes in consideration the socio-cultural reality of the person you are serving, is necessary for any health program to work, especially prevention of vertical transmission as a part of women's health. Women need special attention paid to them and their socio-cultural situation, which in Swaziland, can mean a deep gender inequality that does affect their access to health. Also follow-up is key here- with a pregnant HIV+ woman, a multi-drug resistant TB patient, or anyone that needs health care. You can’t tell people one time in a clinic- here, this is what you have to do for a year and a half- and expect compliance with that. You must have a relationship with people that is sustained over time.

We are doing what in social work we call ‘case management.’ We work with St. Philip’s Clinic here to identify mothers in need of prenatal care. Then we start providing home health care, going to their homesteads and working with their whole family. We do extensive education, and we closely follow the mother and child until the child is 18 months old, continually reinforcing the prevention and care steps the mother and family must take (prenatal care, basic HIV understanding and testing and counseling, arranging supervised delivery, follow-up care with the baby and mother including on infant feeding practices). We provide transport to the hospital and clinics, and supplemental nutrition for mothers and babies. You must sustain a relationship based on what people need. And if that relationship is broken in any way, you have to have the will and dedication to go out to the people and figure out what they need.

HIV+ pregnant women and their babies need this kind of personal attention, ongoing support and true "care"- health care that is more compassionate to their often silenced and neglected needs.

Thanks to FLAS (The Family Life Association of Swaziland) for the gifts of infant clothes which some of these photos show some of our mother and child patients receiving.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Diane and Barbara

Lent Message- 2009

2009-03-26T19:17:00.001+02:00

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Friends, Benefactors, and Colleagues,

Our warm greetings from Swaziland.

As Christians throughout the world celebrate this time of Lent we at Cabrini Ministries would like to share a few thoughts with you. Let us start with these words of St. Paul from Scripture:

Though he was in the form of God
Christ did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.
Rather, He emptied Himself,
Taking the form of a servant. (Phil.2: 6-7)

In these words we see Jesus’ understanding of what was asked of Him in bringing His Father’s message of love into the world…that He would serve others with every gift of nature and grace given to Him in becoming human. Before He died Jesus acted out his servanthood in a way unforgettable and startling to His disciples by washing their feet.

In Lent we enter a particular time of renewing and deepening our relationship with God through Jesus by spending time reading, praying, and contemplating His life and actions with the desire to become more like Him so we can continue His work of servanthood in today’s world. If we desire to become more like Him, we too must become more and more emptied of ourselves so we might serve others.

As we celebrate Lent we would like to share with you a wonderful blessing and inpouring of the Holy Spirit which helped us to act out symbolically this servanthood and grow in desire to live it more fully as an organization.

Youth with a Mission, a Christian evangelical organization working in Swaziland and led by Jim and Lisa Nave, had received a large number of new Nike sneakers. The organization which gave it asked only that a ceremony of foot washing be done before the sneakers be given. Jim and Lisa along with Petros and Elizabeth Kunene, Mathew and Nini came to the Mission and asked Sr. Barbara and I if they could wash our feet and pray over us. We were very touched by the experience. And then at the end we were surprised to receive new Nikes. In reflecting on the experience we desired very much to do the same for our entire staff of about 43 local people. Youth with a Mission agreed and we set the date for our February staff meeting.

When the day arrived we all praised God in song and then Petros Kunene spoke to the staff (in siSwati) about the good work the staff do daily as servants of the community who are sick, orphaned, without sufficient food and often voiceless. The scripture passage from St. John was read and Sr. Barbara and I went around the room washing the feet of all the staff while Jim, Lisa, Petros, Elizabeth, Mathew and Nini prayed over each and every staff member. We asked God to make us true servants like His Son, Jesus. We ended by coming together in a circle of about 50 of us to sing and pray over Youth with a Mission who had brought us such blessing.

When the shoes were brought in (with the correct size for each staff member!) everyone was surprised and happy, but clearly the inpouring of the Holy Spirit which was given to all of us made the shoes secondary in the experience. Many of the staff are very poor people themselves, like the people they serve each day and yet it was clear that all knew the true gift which had been given was a renewal of our commitment to be Jesus as we serve Jesus among His more vulnerable children.

May you also in God’s great love know Him again and more closely in this time of contemplating more closely His life as a servant of all, His suffering, death and resurrection.

With grateful hearts,
Srs. Diane and Barbara

Visitors and Volunteers: Brian Gaisford's Hemingway Safari Group 2009

2009-02-03T10:16:00.002+02:00

Recently we enjoyed a visit by a group of people on safari. Swaziland has some of the best game parks in the world, and our friend Brian Gaisford leads safari groups as part of his Hemingway Gallery and Photographic Safaris outfit, based in New York (www.hemingwaygallery.com).

As many of you know, shipping anything to and from Swaziland is costly and unreliable to say the least. Many people want to donate much-needed items but unfortunately we can't usually take them because there is no good way to get the packages. The best way for us to bring items to and from Swaziland is actually carrying them with our luggage. Enter Brian and his safari group- and their extra duffel bags.

Brian was able to send us $7000 and Brian and friends were able to gather many donated items- shoes, clothing, etc- in New York. His safari group this year consisted of 12 people, including John and Barbara Costantino, who won a safari for two at the Cabrini Mission Foundation Gala fundraising auction in 2007.

So how to get this stuff to our remote location in Swaziland? Each person actually carried on two extra duffel bags full of supplies for their flight to Johannesburg, then they drove to Swaziland, visiting St. Philip's Mission, with a trailer of supplies.

Here is the safari group with us and all the stuff hand-carried by them.

We hosted everyone for a small lunch.

Some of the children put on a show (of course!) with some wonderful traditional song and dance.

More of the show...

These girls are very good singers.

Brian was presented with a basket that was handmade by one of the children's mothers. He writes: "There was a note to me with the basket and when I showed it to my group, it brought all to tears. Thanks so much for that and the basket now hangs with the note in my house."

We are very grateful to Brian and the safari group for visiting and bringing the supplies. The supplies mean so much to us and the children who often have only one set of clothes and shoes. We especially recognize the extra effort made by Brian and the group in adding this visit on to their safari vacation. It's amazing what can happen when people choose to participate by volunteering and find creative ways to help. THANK YOU!

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Restoring Life: Staff Stories

2009-01-12T18:18:00.001+02:00

One of our goals at Cabrini Ministries is restoring life. We use this phrase often, because it captures both the literal and figurative meaning of the renewal and growth of livelihoods that we aim for.

Two of our staff members' stories illustrate the cycle of "restoring life."

This is Phindele. When we first met Phindi, she was so emaciated and weak from HIV and TB that Sister Diane had to pick her up and carry her to the vehicle to receive care, even though Phindi was a young adult. She could not even receive HIV treatment at first, because her liver had shut-down. Phindele's story was typical: she had left her rural homestead for work in an industrial part of Swaziland. She contracted HIV there, became ill, and returned to her homestead, as is usually the case, to die.

TB with HIV is killing so many of our people. These are photos of our patients from a recent slide show we did for the World Health Organization about the TB/HIV situation in Swaziland. Phindele looked like this once. Everyone thought she would die.

She was one of Cabrini Ministries' first ARV patients, and she was treated for TB and HIV. She was lucky in that this was the time when ARV medications for HIV were first being distributed around the country in 2004. She has managed to gain back her health, and now lives a productive, normal life. She is able to raise her children, who would have been orphaned, and she can help her extended family.

Phindele is one of the many people we see that get a new lease on life thanks to medicine and care. Now, she works in our healthcare department, doing monitoring and evaluation, and she is a community educator, training other people in her community about prevention of HIV. Restoring life with treatment and care has been our focus, but we, with the rest of the country, must also support critical prevention activities, such as Phindele's community education.

Tfobhi (pronounced "Tobi") came to Cabrini when she was pregnant with twins and needed healthcare services. She got to know us as a patient, and began working with children in the hostel in 2006. She led the Weekend and Evening department, which managed such activities as study halls and tutoring, traditional games, crafts, sports, song and dance, and teaching life skills. She has shown great leadership abilities and now supervises all of the hostel staff.

She writes: "I have learned a lot. When I came here, I didn’t know that I had so many potential skills, or that I could do so many things. Through working, I can say that I can try- I don’t know if I’ll be able to do everything, but I will try. I’ve gained a lot. I learned a lot about children. I knew children, but I’ve learned that you can’t approach different children in the same way. Also, I was very, very shy in talking to people, but now I try to correct and teach people; now I talk, present and demonstrate."

Tfobhi's growing skills and confidence as a leader are particularly significant in the context of female status in this country. Before a new constitution was adopted in 2006 which granted some rights, Swazi women had the legal status of minors, and were unable to own property or open a bank account without the permission of a male relative or husband. Still, women in our community often won't raise their eyes or speak up. Both Tfobhi and Phindele demonstrate great courage as managers and community educators, and are role models for our young girls.

These are photos of Tfobhi during the last Christmas event at the hostel.

There is a cycle and continuum that restoring life involves. Both Phindele and Tfobhi were once healthcare patients, as were or are many of the employees at Cabrini Ministries, and they are individuals who have so much to offer their communities. Healthy people can build healthy communities. We are grateful to all who help to restore the life to this community.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Christmas 2008

2008-12-17T11:37:00.002+02:00

Dear sisters and brothers, friends and benefactors,

May our loving God bring you deep joy and peace in this time of Christmas. We remember again our humble God coming into this world, becoming one with us so that we could become one with Him.

It is always a “wonder” to remember that God came among us small, vulnerable, into a poor country ruled and oppressed by another country; his mother had no proper place to give birth and in his early years he lived as a refugee in another country. A very unlikely, paradoxical God and Saviour! And yet in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection we have been given access to our good God and to abundant life without end.

It is because of the great Love which we celebrate at Christmas that we respond with love by caring for those who are vulnerable today. Those of us who work directly with the orphans and the sick, those who pray for this work, and those who contribute material resources for this work all participate in returning love for Love. All of us together continue this message of love and reconciliation in today’s world.

Sr. Barbara, myself (Sr. Diane) and all the staff of Cabrini Ministries thank you for your kindness and generosity and for participating with us in the life-giving circle of love. May you and your loved ones be blessed again and again.

Sincerely, Srs. Diane and Barbara

How to Build a House... and a Community

2008-11-25T17:41:00.001+02:00

Hello Everyone!

Back in May, as you know, we at Cabrini Ministries were not really in the business of building houses. We provide educational support and housing for orphans at the hostel, and healthcare and nutritional support for the local community with our drop-in center and outreach programs. But in June, a string of opportunities propelled us head-first into residential construction, so we started building houses.

First, some context... The Swazis in our community often talk about how much better things were 30 years ago. Traditional mud and stick huts were better maintained, and thatch roofs were made of the expensive, good quality thatch from outside the area. Well-built and well-maintained traditional huts do fare decently in rough weather and heat. But today, because the adult labor force has been hit so hard by HIV and AIDS, many people can't maintain their huts as well as in the past. People use cheaper thatch that must be replaced every year, and there are less healthy adults to do this. As a result, many of the huts are in poor shape, with no roofs and not much protection from the elements. Some living situations are not even huts, but makeshift structures. Orphans and the elderly are two groups in particular need of better housing.

The Swazi government organization NERCHA (The National Emergency Response Council on HIV/AIDS in Swaziland) receives money from the Global Fund for improvement projects in Swaziland. We contacted NERCHA and shared that our community was in need of housing, and in June we were awarded a grant of about $100,000 to produce 35 houses for the most in-need orphans and elderly in our community by December. We immediately got started. The photo above is the existing hut in poor condition (as you can see, with no real roof) from the homestead where we built house #1. In the photos below, we will take you through the process of building a house as we learned to do it.

The houses we built were made of cement, so first, you need many bags of cement.

With those bags of cement, we made bricks. You can build about 32-37 cement cinder blocks out of one bag of cement, sand, and water. It takes between 350-420 bricks to make one house. So we had to make a lot of bricks.

We used our maize-drying area as a makeshift brickyard because it is fenced. The bricks need to be watered three times a day as they are drying, and they take 7-14 days to fully dry.

Next step is mixing the cement and pouring the foundation. The houses are fifteen feet by fifteen feet.

We then lay and mortar the bricks and put in some steel reinforcers. This house is a double-house for a boy and a girl family of orphans so they could each have their own space.

One of the best parts about this project is that we were able to hire local young men to work on the houses as contractors. There are lines at the door for jobs in this area, so this was especially helpful to the community. They were paid the market rate and did a great job. We also had the guidance of Mr. Cuelho from Manzini who helped as a construction manager. And family members and neighbors pitched in. As a result, I believe we were the fastest and most organized house-builders NERCHA has worked with yet.

The last major step is smoothing the cement over the bricks, and putting in the windows, door, and roof. And finally...

Ta-da! A finished house. We are on schedule to complete all the houses by December. These houses were logistically challenging to build, with almost all the materials being made at St. Philip's Mission, then being transported out to homesteads for construction. But they will be long-lasting and will stand up to weather and heat well. Also, particularly for the orphans receiving the houses, this will help them to be less of a burden on their extended families, and a bit more easily adjusted into society.

These houses are top-of-the-line for the area, and this project has had a huge effect on people and hope in the community. People have really taken pride in the process and everyone has been happy and excited about it. We are so grateful for the grant and the experience!

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends and family in the U.S.
Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Today the Hawk Takes One Chick at the Margaret Mead Film Festival NYC

2008-11-05T10:29:00.000+02:00

On November 15 2008 at 6pm in NYC, there will be a screening of Today the Hawk Takes One Chick as part of the Margaret Mead Film & Video Festival.

This 72 minute film was shot entirely on location in our community and features the adults and children we serve, as it presents the lives of three grandmothers and the challenges they face. Read more about the issues in the film's study guide:

http://der.org/resources/study-guides/TTHTOC-study-guide.pdf

The film will be shown in the Linder Theater at the American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024. Both Jane Gillooly (the filmmaker) and Sr. Barbara will be there, so please come see us if you can!

Update on Nick Kristof's Kids

2008-09-19T09:36:00.001+02:00

Hello everyone,
(Apologies for the delay in communications... email and phone service in the bush have been sparse lately.)
We would like to update you on a few things in the next few weeks.

First, we wanted to take a longer-term look at several children's lives.

In May of 2006, New York Times reporter Nicholas Kristof visited us in Swaziland to do a feature about AIDS. His work ended up in the form of a short New York Times video, available for Times Select subscribers at: The World Hasn't Moved On. Click here to watch:

In the video, Kristof focuses on children orphaned by AIDS, and profiles three groups of children orphaned by AIDS in our community. It is interesting to look at each of these groups of children and see how they are faring since the video was shot over a year and half ago.

Nomzamo, a 12-year-old orphan, is struggling to take care of her two younger sisters at the time of the video. She must feed, clothe, and otherwise raise her sisters. At the time of the video, Nomzamo and her sisters lived in a mud and stick hut with a poor roof. They did have a living grandmother, but the grandmother worked on a farm several towns away and was gone all week only to visit with them on the weekends.

Nomzamo and her sisters are doing somewhat better now, by happy fault. For one, the grandmother retired, so though she is very old, she is an adult presence in the home. Cabrini Ministries visited the homestead and talked with the grandmother about boarding the children at the hostel, but the grandmother refused, because she said she needed Nomzamo to cook for her and to keep the house safe so no one would steal from her. They are having a difficult time affording and otherwise obtaining food. They did receive donations from the World Food Programme, but run out, so Cabrini checks in regularly and helps with corn-soya and mealie-meal. The land around them is very dry from the drought and they are unable to grow crops. (Read more about the food crisis or the drought here or here.)

One positive, unexpected turn of events was that their house was fully rebuilt by SWADE (Swaziland Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise). SWADE is building a dam nearby and many residents, including Nomzamo's household, were forced to relocate. Their amount of land was preserved, however, and a house was built with better structure and materials as a replacement. The family now lives in a very solid, concrete house, painted, with windows.

Cabrini Ministries also supports Nomzamo and her sisters with extra school expenses. The government covers school tuition for all registered orphans, but there are other expenses such as uniforms, shoes, supplies, etc. that are necessary but not covered. (Read more about school fees for orphans here.)Through a foundation grant and sponsorships from private donors, we are able to pay for about 100 children's extra school expenses and ensure they are able to go to school.

Wandile and Temdoline, portrayed as brother and sister in the video, are not actually related but are two orphans that have stayed with each other. They lived with Wandile's aunt at the time, who was shown very sick with AIDS, unable to provide food for the family and close to death.

Wandile's aunt became a patient of Cabrini Ministries, and was put on anti-retroviral medication. She responded very well to the treatment and got some of her health back, but food was still difficult to secure. The homestead was run as a part-time shebeen, which is an illegal home-brewing drinking hut. Shebeens tend to leave children extra vulnerable to abuse and neglect. The aunt eventually abandoned the children and took the last of the food.

The children followed another child home from school one day hungry and having no place to go. The child's mother, which was Wandile and Temdoline's neighbor, though barely having enough to feed her own children, could not turn Wandile and Temdoline away. This kind of woman reminds us of our unity as a worldwide family and our duties as "neighbors" to each other. The children are currently living with this neighbor.

This is a common situation in Swaziland of a family being overstretched taking on extra members, with the orphaned children being at the end of the receiving line and last to get their needs met. Cabrini Ministries checks in with this homestead regularly and tries to provide help where needed.

Siphiso says in the video he thought about suicide after he had watched both parents die, but that he didn't want to abandon his two younger brothers. We thank God for Siphiso today, because we have been happy to have had an opportunity to see him grow, and he and his brothers are doing much better under Cabrini's care. Siphiso and his brothers were living on their own as a child-headed homestead.

We were able to have Siphiso and his brothers move into the Cabrini hostel in late 2006. Another important thing we helped Siphiso and his brothers with was figuring out his extended family relationships in the area, which were complicated, so now they are reintegrating into their family and staying with adult relatives over school breaks.

One amazing thing is how much Siphiso has grown! He is now taller than many of the adults around here. We think this is one of the visible consequences of good nutrition that we are beginning to see over time with many of the children in the hostel. Siphiso is 17 but as a result of his past, only in grade 6. Because he is so tall, he sometimes gets made fun of by the younger students. We will probably pull him out of the school system after his grade 7 exams and support him to go to trade school, which tends to make older students like him feel much more confident and successful.

The other brothers, Mcolisi and Sipho, are doing well, physically healthy and growing tall too.

Thanks to Nick Kristof for his original reportage, and thanks to all our supporters that help us improve the lives of such children over the long-term.

Love and blessings,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Volunteers & Visitors Series: Katie McCaskie and Youth With A Mission (YWAM)

2008-07-24T18:40:00.002+02:00

For being out in the middle of the bush, Cabrini Ministries receives its fair share of visitors and volunteers, that bring to us a wonderful flow of fresh air, positive attitudes, a variety of aid and assistance, and always good times... !

We wanted to share with you some of the photos and perspectives of a few of these visitors and volunteers as part of a series, and honor all of them in spirit for all that they've brought to us. Siyabonga (Thanks)!

Love,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

Volunteer visitor Katie McCaskie shares her great writing and photos below about her time here recently:

"As part of a four-month odyssey through Africa, I spent three weeks with Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland and I can honestly say that it was the most meaningful and enjoyable time of my whole trip! I'm a clinical social worker and during graduate school I had the privilege of working at Cabrini Immigrant Services, a grassroots agency in NYC run by another amazing Cabrini woman, Sr. Pietrina Raccuglia. At her suggestion, I contacted Sr. Barbara and Sr. Diane about spending some time with them in Swaziland and they kindly agreed.

"Shortly after arriving, Sr. Barbara told me that one of my jobs would be organizing the two-week stay of a volunteer group from Youth With A Mission (YWAM- www.ywam.org ), an international Christian organization. The group included 8 volunteers, ranging in age from 19 to 30 from 6 different countries: USA (Jessica Landrus, Jane Kim, Victoria Vail), Germany (Johannes Birzele), Northern Ireland (Debra Lindsay), Australia (Luana Martin), Malawi (Daniel Kaphuka) and South Korea (Audrey Oh). It was quite a multicultural bunch. They had already spent several weeks together taking classes in South Africa and were completing their field experience in another area of Swaziland and at Cabrini Ministries (CM).

L to R first row: Jane, Joyce, and Johannes; second row: Luana, Sr. Diane, Jessica, Audrey, Debbie, Victoria, and Katie; third row: Daniel

"Energetic and enthusiastic, the group came ready to contribute and accomplished a great deal in two weeks, including painting the 'K-Line' (turning a truck-size utilitarian storage box into an aesthetically pleasing structure and a potential shady location for children to read, study, etc); constructing a protective fence around the hostel; setting up Shelterbox tents (read about Shelterbox at Cabrini here) on homesteads for families in need; cleaning the entire health care outreach center and assisting with services; conducting vision screenings and measuring the weight and height of all the children returning to the hostel after school vacation; and helping with Olympic Day. Here are some photos demonstrating their handiwork:

Jessica painting the K-Line

Daniel and Johannes building the fence

Jane and Debbie decorating the hostel

Victoria and Audrey decorating the hostel

"I was thankful to work with Joyce Djokoto, a long-term employee of Cabrini Ministries, who helped make the process a smooth and enjoyable one for both the YWAM volunteers and the Cabrini community. I also worked with Joyce on the educational enrichment program with David Senzanje, the Director of Education, and Mavis Steenkamp, a teacher. CM started this program to support students while school is out of session and they are staying on homesteads with their guardians. The students came to St. Philip's Monday through Thursday for a half day and had the opportunity to receive individualized attention in a more dynamic, innovative way than is usually available to them at school.

"Lucky for me, I was at CM for two very special events which were both happening for the first time ever. The first was a staff outing to Mantenga Falls organized by Maggie Horne, a fabulous Peace Corp volunteer who has been working at CM since February. The staff, many of whom were visiting the falls for the first time in their lives, observed and spontaneously participated in a traditional dance performance and afterwards, engaged in some fun competition involving water balloons and "three legs." :) It was so wonderful to see everyone having so much fun, especially knowing some of the seemingly insurmountable challenges many of them have had to overcome just to be alive.

The staff at Mantenga Falls

Sr. Barbara and Ms. Mamba dancing at Mantenga

"The following week, Maggie organized an 'Olympic Day,' a delightful afternoon of games and activities to welcome the children back from their homesteads. The day was also part of a larger effort to create a healthy sense of competition in the hostels and highlight the children's special accomplishments and talents. The YWAM volunteers assisted Maggie in decorating the hostels with signs about hygiene, positive affirmations, and child-friendly pictures, including the four animals that served as the team mascots: cobra, zebra, cheetah and lion. It was a joy to watch these children really PLAY, something that they have had very little opportunity to do in their lives as a result of extreme loss and hardship, and the cultural mores that expect children to be somewhat seen and not heard. The day ended with an American style barbeque with the help of Sr. Barbara who provided some basic ed on hamburgers and hotdogs!

Sr. Diane and kids on Olympic Day

COBRAS! on Olympic Day

Jane and Audrey and friends on Olympic Day

Three-legged race on Olympic Day

"I was exhausted by the end of the three weeks, but felt so blessed to be welcomed into the community and invigorated by the dedication that I witnessed. I'm grateful to the staff for their willingness to get to know me and share their knowledge and experiences, even though it was only for a short time. I learned so much from Sr. Barbara and Sr. Diane about HIV, AIDS and TB in Swaziland and the grave consequences for the nation and its future. Their respect for the Swazis was clearly apparent, and like good social workers, they approach their work with an understanding that the client or the community is the expert of their own lives. Their dedication and compassion seem endless and it was incredibly inspiring. It was a pleasure and a privilege to spend valuable time with such passionate, open-minded, and remarkable women."

Colleen-another terrific Peace Corps volunteer who has been helping at Cabrini the last few months- and Katie enjoying the American-style BBQ

From Our Farm to Your Table: Income-Generating Agricultural Projects That Make A Difference

2008-06-17T15:20:00.001+02:00

If all goes well, the chilies that we have been growing on our farm at Cabrini Ministries will soon end up in bottles of Tabasco sauce.

This is the magic of connections that make things grow. Toby Ward, a friend who helped us pick up the pieces after the storm damage, suggested we get in touch with someone at an organization called Technoserve, which helps small farmers find markets for their crops.

We have had good success with growing chile peppers in the past, as they like our very hot weather. We've produced surplus of this crop- beyond what we needed to supplement the nutrition of the OVC children in the hostel and our 800 health care patients a month- so we wanted to sell the extra peppers for income to put back into the agriculture project in the hopes that it will be able to support itself soon enough. Where we needed help was finding people to buy our surplus produce. We tried approaching grocers, but many already had their chosen vendors and we couldn't find larger-scale buyers that would make the project worth it.

Enter Technoserve... They not only provided the marketing connection to a top-notch company like Tabasco, but they also offer a lot of great technological advice about growing crops. For example, when growing chilies, the crops must be planted and grow very straight, otherwise they grow 'J roots' that prevent good peppers from forming. This kind of advice is critical to our Swazi agricultural staff members and volunteers, because we can grow better crops and generate more income for the project to make it more sustainable, and everyone can take the agricultural knowledge home, share with their communities, and grow better crops on their homesteads. We've started tilling the soil and making plans to grow Tabasco's special breed of chile. If all goes well, we should have 4-5 acres of chilies for Tabasco by December.

Click below to see a video about Technoserve's work with farmers in Swaziland:

We've also made a connection with SWADE, the Swaziland Water and Agriculture Development Enterprise. They have put in a dam near us for irrigation for poor farmers to grow cash crops. They're going to use two acres of our land, put in irrigation, grow experimental cash crops, and teach the local people how to grow the crops on their own homesteads. They provide all the 'input'- the seedlings, the labor, and technical advice, and we get to keep the produce for the children and our patients. They will also help us find markets for the produce. One of the first experimental export crops will be gooseberries- apparently there is a good market in Australia and South Africa for gooseberries.

We're beginning to feel very hopeful about the longer-term sustainability of our agriculture project due to these developments. We've always been able to grow good produce, but the marketing has been slow-coming for us. These projects are helping us get our foot through the door and helping local people improve their abilities to support themselves.

Cheers to good friends, good ideas, good health, and good food!

Love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Article in the Swazi Observer about Cabrini Ministries' Orphan Care

2008-05-15T15:02:00.012+02:00

Hello friends,

We wanted to share with you the following article that was written by Calsile Masilela, a writer for the Swazi Observer (one of two major newspapers here) that came to visit us, and who we feel really understands our works.

As the adult generation ages 15-49 struggles with a 34% HIV prevalence rate and more people that age are dying, their children are left behind as orphans to be taken care of by extended family or neighbors. Grandmothers (gogos) like Gogo Shongwe portrayed in the article below often take on caretaking duties at an age when they would normally expect care themselves.

We at Cabrini Ministries try to ease the burden on families affected by HIV/AIDS by helping to raise orphaned and vulnerable children with a co-parenting approach, providing shelter, food, clothing, school fees, psychosocial support, health care, etc. for orphaned children while also helping them maintain a connection with home and their remaining family members. We also try to help struggling caretakers like Gogo Shongwe with food and health care.

This article was published in the Swazi Observer, Monday May 5, 2008.

CABRINI MINISTRIES HOUSE, EDUCATE, FEED OVC
… As the drought hits hard on Lubombo folk

LUBOMBO drought-ravaged residents want action against the devastating effects of poverty.

Photo of Gogo Shongwe by Jane Gillooly

Gogo (granny) Maria Shongwe, who lives with her orphaned 11 grandchildren, said she had never expected to live under such harsh conditions. Gogo Shongwe related that in the past they used to engage in farming but stopped because of the drought.

“We now depend on food aid, which is also not reliable because at times we go for one to two months without receiving the rations,” said Gogo Shongwe. She added that she was disturbed that some of the grandchildren do not go to school because she could not afford to pay for their school fees.

She mentioned that out of the 11 grandchildren only five go to school, thanks to Cabrini Ministries.

This is one of Gogo Shongwe's grandchildren that lives at the Cabrini Ministries hostel during the school year and is doing well.

“I really wish the mission staff could be blessed for they care for the needy like ourselves. When I get to the mission to visit my grandchildren at the hostel, they welcome me and I also feel at home,” she said, adding that they also give her some food to eat and some food to take home.

Gogo Shongwe said if it was not for the mission a lot of children around that place would be dead by now.

“My granddaugher, it is only now that we shall have a meal because the missionaries gave us some,” she said.

Gogo Shongwe encouraged people to visit those areas so that they would see the situation in order to make proper interventions.

“As winter approached, we have no warm clothes and there is nothing we can do from the little that I get from the grant. I used it all in buying mealie meal,” said Gogo Shongwe.

On the other hand, Dumsile Tsabedze from Luvatsi urged government to look deeper into the issue of Orphaned and Vulnerable Children for she said it was painful for them as community members to watch children caring for themselves.

“My neighbor died, she was living with her three children of which two are boys and a girl.

“The children were left with their uncle, who then left them all by themselves with no house after the one they occupied collapsed,” said Tsabedze.

Tsabedze said it was through mercy, for her family was also big and starving, that she was able to intervene to keep the children’s bodies and souls together. She expressed her gratitude to Cabrini Ministries, who also came to the rescue of the orphans and took them to the hostel.

The missionaries take care of the children fully even during school holidays when they are with her.

Photo by Jane Gillooly

If you'd like to learn more about Gogo Shongwe, she is also featured prominently in a documentary about Gogos (grandmothers) called Today the Hawk Takes One Chick by Jane Gillooly, which was filmed in our area. The film shows Gogo Shongwe's day-to-day inspiring struggles to care for her grandchildren and raise the next generation. Click on the link below to go to the website where you can purchase the DVD of the film and learn more about the film project.

http://www.der.org/films/hawk-takes-one-chick.html

This is another of Gogo Shongwe's grandchildren that lives at the Cabrini Ministries hostel.

There is hope in the children of the next generation- you can see it! These children have so much potential. And it is up to all of us to honor that and support orphaned, vulnerable, and needy children, so they can grow up and bring the world their best.

Blessings, love, and thanks to all who support the works,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Living Cycle of Hope

2008-04-08T17:36:00.002+02:00

This is Ncamsile. She is an employee at Cabrini Ministries. She is HIV+ and 29 years old.

Ncamsile discovered she was HIV+ in 2004, when she was working as a teacher, and found one morning she could not get out of bed. This is often the case in Swaziland- people do not acknowledge more subtle signs and symptoms of disease, and often seek health care only when gravely ill, probably because of a lack of health knowledge and the lack of a reliable system from which to receive care. Ncamsile's CD4 (or T-cell) count was only 100 when she first sought treatment, which is considered late-stage AIDS and is a life-threatening level of illness. Her sister came in for treatment as well, Sr. Diane went out to see and try to treat her, but she passed away soon after. Ncamsile also lost another sister and brother to the disease. Ncamsile is responsible for raising her sister's two children who were orphaned now.

Photo:Luis Maximiano

Once she was on ARV treatment, she responded very well. She had to leave her job and recuperate for a month until she felt her health return. When she felt well again, she applied for a job at Cabrini Ministries; we hired her in February of 2005. At first she worked as the residential manager of the hostel, then she got more and more involved with healthcare. She also began to disclose her HIV+ status publicly.

Photo:Luis Maximiano

Swaziland is a country where HIV+ status has been highly stigmatized, especially in the more traditional, rural areas. Even though many people have become HIV+ and died of AIDS, people avoid talking about it directly, instead saying that a person was "very sick" or had "the plague". Shame, fear and ignorance keep people quiet about HIV/AIDS, and it has the very detrimental effect of delaying important preventions like testing and treatment. Ncamsile is the first person that has revealed her status in the local area where she was well known. This takes so much courage and self-esteem and we respect her so much for that.

Photo:Luis Maximiano

Because she has been willing to disclose her HIV+ status, she has become what is known as an "expert client"- someone who can speak from their own experience to others about living with HIV/AIDS. When she speaks, the community listens. Because she is a local Swazi, her voice has much more authority than even a nurse or an outsider. We are in the process of developing a formalized community health education program, and she will head that up. It is people like her doing community education that destigmatize HIV/AIDS and help save people's lives through sharing information. Also the naturally forming communities we see in our healthcare department, such as people riding together in our vehicles to get treatment, coming together at the walk-in clinic to get ARV treatments, or coming to get food parcels at the same time, are a naturally built open support system that helps patients to share their HIV status and actively seek care without shame.

As an employer, Cabrini Ministries has an attitude of affirmative action for people living with HIV/AIDS. When we have a job position open, and two equally qualified people apply but one of them is HIV+, we would choose to hire the HIV+ person. There are a few reasons for that. First because HIV/AIDS strikes the young, working population who are usually the main breadwinners for the whole extended family. The person’s family has probably already been undermined by the person’s illness. Also, we can never overlook the importance of psychosocial support. The HIV+ person needs to have meaning, purpose, and hope in their lives to go on, and one of the things that gives anybody hope is a job. If you have a healthy person and a person who thought they were going to die of HIV/AIDS, a person who thinks they’re going to die needs more hope and things to give them hope.

(Drawing by one of the OVC kids in the hostel)

Ncamsile recognizes the importance of sharing her experience with her community, and works at giving all she can to the orphans she raises at home and in the hostel, and to the patients that are sick like she was in the past. Our employees at Cabrini Ministries like Ncamsile are a part of a living cycle of change, regeneration, and hope. Thanks to everyone that keeps the spirit of such good work alive everywhere out there and at Cabrini Ministries here.

Love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Easter Blessings to All From Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland

2008-03-22T19:48:00.001+02:00

Dear Friends, Benefactors, and Readers,

A blessed Easter Season to each and all of you from Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland.

The Lenten and Easter Seasons are a time to reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Here in Swaziland Sr. Barbara and I do this by reflecting, discussing, and meditating on the life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus as described in the Scriptures and in the ongoing life, passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus in the people and situations which Cabrini Ministries serves.

One of the scripture readings for Good Friday from Isaiah 52 says:

There was no stately bearing to make us look at him, nor appearance
that would attract us,
Spurned and avoided by men; suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
One of those from whom men hide their faces,
Spurned, held in no esteem

This Passion of Christ as described in Isaiah continues today in so many countries in this world. We see it continuing in Swaziland as it is crushed by suffering – small, forgotten, powerless in the grand scheme of things, made weaker and weaker by the loss of grandparents, parents, children, brothers, sisters, cousins to HIV, AIDS and TB.

In the midst of humiliation, powerlessness, and suffering Jesus knew He was deeply loved by God and trusted God to save Him. The people of Swaziland served by Cabrini Ministries also know and trust in God’s love and salvation each day.

How is that possible? It is possible through the great kindnesses and help received from friends and benefactors like yourselves. There is new life and resurrection each time the children, the sick, the hungry, and homeless here in the lowveld know that education, medicine, food, shelter, clothing are available to them through your generosity. With great resilience the people gain hope from each kindness received.

We wish to thank you for bringing resurrection all through the year to thousands served here by your generosity. God is not outdone…you will receive more than you can ever give.

A blessed Easter Season,

Srs. Diane and Barbara

Healing and Caring- One Person At A Time

2008-03-07T12:45:00.001+02:00

Hello out there!

Looking through the recent photos we took of the orphans at the hostel for sponsorship (Click here for more info about sponsorship), we were reminded that each child and teenager have their own distinctly individual personalities, backgrounds, and care requirements.

It is the same with our healthcare patients.

Photo: Luis Maximiano

When we are trying to deal with a complicated problem like HIV/AIDS and its secondary effects on a society, such as tuberculosis infection, poverty, and orphaned children, we've realized that the only way to tackle it is to take each individual on a case-by-case basis, one person at a time. This approach takes huge commitment, as it is labor intensive, organizationally intensive, and resource intensive. But, we believe it is the only way to make real change.

Considering problems like HIV/AIDS in Swaziland, it is easy for outsiders to just hear numbers and statistics, and lose connection to the people that are facing these issues. Here is a statistic: UNICEF says by 2010 there will be 150,000 orphans and vulnerable children under the age of 15 in Swaziland. Here is the human reality of it: How can this many vulnerable children be on their own? Knowing how much individual care and love each child on this earth needs for their development, the reality of these statistics is heartbreaking. But we move forwards, one unique child at a time, and try to support their growth and healing- physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Each child, and each person, is precious and wonderful.

Below is a link to an article about the thousands of orphans in the small country that cannot afford the fees to go to school (there is no public school in Swaziland), and how the government is failing on their promise to support them.

SWAZILAND: School gates close on orphans
Photo: IRIN
Vulnerable children at a Neighborhood Care Point

We do consider our commitment to personal care and attention of the individuals in our community the key to success. One of the specifics we're working on now is developing a formal educational program for the OVC kids that ensures an individual approach to each child's development. We've hired three new professional teaching staff that will help us design individual programs for the children and teenagers. And we've forged an exchange relationship with Cabrini College, to share skills and experience across the world. We'll keep you updated on that...

Thanks for your support- it really makes a difference in these individual lives.
Blessings & love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Sr. Diane on CBS News

2008-02-19T09:33:00.003+02:00

Hi Everyone,

We're excited to share the following video news link with you: it features Sr. Diane and Thandiwe ministering to an HIV/AIDS patient in our community, as part of a CBS Evening News story about President Bush visiting Africa on behalf of PEPFAR (The US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief).

Thanks to Sarah Carter and CBS News for visiting us and reporting on the issues here. The work continues today...

Blessings & love to all,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Quick Update

2008-02-16T09:52:00.001+02:00

Hi everyone! A few quick items of interest for you:

CBS EVENING NEWS VISIT
CBS News (a major network in the USA) sent reporter Sarah Carter to do a news story in Swaziland on HIV, AIDS, TB and the PEPFAR funding (The US President's Emergency Program for AIDS Relief) which has been distributed all over Africa. This is in preparation for President Bush's visit to Africa. Cabrini Ministries hosted them here all day. They took footage of our drop-in center, then accompanied one of our nurses on home visits to four different patients. The reporter interviewed Sr. Diane, and the patients and Thandiwe (our nurse). This will probably air on Monday and possibly Tuesday night, although she said it could come on as early as Saturday. It was a great day and the reporter may return in the future to do more work with us. We will post more information on the blog as it becomes available, but if you happen to watch the CBS Evening News, look out for us!

TODAY THE HAWK TAKES ONE CHICK- MORE SCREENINGS
Jane Gilooly's film Today the Hawk Takes One Chick, which was filmed in our community and shows the health care services we provide from one of our staff member's perspective, premiered at the ICA in Boston, MA to a sold-out house. Jane & crew did a great job portraying the issues at hand, and the universality of the struggles people here are facing. Evoking both tears and laughter in the audience, this film puts human faces and a human connection with the issues and statistics you hear us talking about. More screenings in the future are listed below at the MFA in Boston:

Boston, MA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - MFA Remis Box Office: 617-369-3306
March 20 Thursday 8:00 pm with director Jane Gillooly
March 22 Saturday 2:30 pm Co-presented with the LEF Foundations “Filmmakers Face to Face” program, with director Jane Gillooly
March 23 Sunday 1:00 pm with producer Tracey Kaplan
March 27 Thursday 2:00 pm
March 29 Saturday 1:00 pm with executive producer Pat Daoust
April 6 Sunday 5:45 pm

OFF TO A GOOD SCHOOL WITH FEES PAID
We posted last time about 'C', our OVC hostel kid who worked extra hard to catch up to his grade level, and managed to achieve scores on his national exam that were in the top 2%. We weren't sure how we were going to be able to afford all of C's school fees and costs, which amount to several thousand dollars. The good news to report is that someone has pledged to support him and he will be moving forwards in a good school, working hard, making great progress, and being an inspiration to the other kids.

(That's C on the right- smiling!)

Blessings & love to all,
Srs. Barbara & Diane

Slow and Steady Progress: Working through the storm damage and national exams

2008-02-07T07:05:00.000+02:00

Greetings to all,

First we want to update everyone on the storm rebuild & clean-up. The damages were extensive and we are still picking up the pieces. We've had assessments done and repair work has begun around the Mission.

Though this storm has been an unforeseen and difficult situation for us to bear, it warms our hearts that a few individuals out there have been moved so far to respond quickly with help. We extend deepest thanks and appreciation to our supporters. We met our goal of getting the kitchen fixed and functioning for the return of the hostel children last Monday, so we all could cook and eat as normal. We do have many more repair goals to reach ASAP (such as fixing holes in the roof, replacing damaged furniture, etc.) but with your support we feel part of a great family of friends that will help to ensure our works will continue. (Click here to link to the Cabrini Mission Foundation and make a donation.)

We have a few items of good news we want to share with you…

(photo by Luiz Maximiano)

We are pleased to announce we were able to take in a few more children and the number of OVC (orphaned & vulnerable children) at our hostel is now up to 141. These children receive all basic care such as food, shelter, clothing, school fare, and healthcare, as well as educational, social, and emotional care and support. We will hold a meeting next weekend where we invite the remaining extended family of all the children (like a Parent’s Day), we will honor special achievers, and we will especially welcome our children new to the hostel.

Also, recently 17 of our seventh graders took their national exams that are required for entering high school. We are so proud of our kids, because everyone passed. Also, one boy received a merit, which means he was in the top 2% in the nation (23,000 kids took these tests) in the scores. We also had two kids that received what is known as ‘first class’ scores, which are in the top 13% of the nation.

It is difficult to express how important this is for these children’s lives. They have the opportunity to get into better high schools now, and getting past grade 7 is a real achievement for rural people that live in the bush. Many of these children’s parents- if they were alive- would not have been able to get past grade 7 or have much schooling at all. So this might be the first generation to achieve this, and the families are beyond proud. Also, the children can feel the self-esteem of being a normal kid- not just an orphan with no chance and no future.

This is our ‘merit’ kid- “C.”- he is 17 years old. Both of his parents have been dead for years. His mother died in a particularly traumatic way: pregnant with her fourth child, she collapsed while walking some distance on foot, and she and her unborn baby were found dead on a roadside. C.’s father was abusive to him, and C. was starved and neglected. He was suicidal at 11 years old, when he came to the hostel to live with us. That was also when he started first grade.

C. has been in our bridge school program where he has been able to complete several school grades in a year to catch up with his age group. His teacher reports that he is an excellent student who works hard, is respectful, and looks to the future. C. has no family left- no extended family to stay with at school break time (Read more about school break time here), so one of our staff members who works in the hostel has taken him in and allowed him to come to his homestead and be part of his family.

(photo by Ryan Phelps- Pediatrician in Swaziland)

C. and the three other bridge school kids who work so hard and are so self-motivated to learn helped to motivate the other 13 kids in a positive peer pressure way. Because they were very much into school, seeking out more learning opportunities, doing homework, studying, helping their peers, and making learning fun and good, their influence rubbed off on the other kids, and school has become ‘cool.’

We had promised that if all 17 kids passed, we would have a party for them. The day we had the party, Brian Gaisford of Hemingway Photographic Safaris had come to visit with his safari group from the US. (Read about how Brian & his safari group bring items like shoes overseas with them here.) Brian and his group managed to bring about 150 pairs of shoes, as well as clothing and art supplies, in their extra luggage- which is incredible! And greatly appreciated...

The safari group joined us for the special dinner we had for the kids, where we had chicken and other favorite foods, presented these kids with awards, and did our best to applaud their efforts. I think they all felt very special that day, which is the best kind of feeling, to support them and help them rise above terribly traumatic pasts.

We can directly credit this remarkable success to the bridge school and afterschool tutoring programs. All the work that goes into supporting these children and alleviating the social stressors on them is showing results: providing real educational and social enhancement opportunities. This is cause to celebrate!

(photo by Luiz Maximiano)

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara & Diane

PS. If any of you are in the New England/Boston area, please be sure to go see Jane Gilooly's film about Swazi grandmothers, or 'gogos', Today the Hawk Takes One Chick, which she filmed in our community. It's showing at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston, on Saturday 2/7/08 at 7 pm. For tickets and directions, go to: http://www.icaboston.org/programs/film/

"Picking Up the Pieces" Article by Rev. Ken Jefferson

2008-01-07T10:27:00.000+02:00

We are still cleaning up after the storm that hit us a few weeks ago. Below is an article written by our friend Reverend Ken Jefferson, a Scotsman, a Baptist Minister, and the pastor of the Mbabane Chapel. This article appeared in the local paper here- the Swazi Observer. We met him a while ago, because he writes a wonderful weekly column in the Swazi Observer from a theological perspective and we called him to thank him for it- the rest is history.

He came to St. Philip's the morning after the storm to see for himself and generously helped us. He has also helped us in the past; last winter, through Rotary, he got us 100 much-needed blankets. His articles are always well-written and inspiring and we offer this to you to provide a window into what we are experiencing now, and to offer hope and faith to all in difficult times.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

"PICKING UP THE PIECES" by Rev. Ken Jefferson

In the days between Christmas and New Year there was a storm. It struck in the late afternoon, and for many places across the country, it was just another storm. We have them and we cope with them throughout this season.

However this storm hit one small area with exceptional force, causing major damage. In fifteen brief minutes it swept through the St. Philips Mission, lifting roofs of houses, taking down power lines, tearing down trees, leaving the nuns who run the orphanage with a repair bill that will run to as much as half a million Emalangeni.

A few months ago, the Mbabane Rotary Club provided a hundred blankets for the children being looked after at St Philips, and in this emergency the nuns contacted me, as president of the club. They reached out for assistance in the crisis that had overtaken them.

They had already contacted a former volunteer, now working with the US embassy, and with this young man I quickly made my way to the orphanage, to see and survey the damage at first hand. It was a scene of real devastation.

The two nuns, Sister Diane and Sister Barbara had endured a frightening experience. The wind came with such force that it lifted the tiles of the roof of their house. Then torrential rain fell and soaked everything inside. The hours of the night were long and difficult. One of the staff lost his possessions when his small house was wrecked. The kitchen which feeds over 130 children was smashed up, the dormitories had holes in the ceiling, and the church which stands at the heart of the mission had sustained substantial damage.

For the sisters there was more than the element of physical fright in their experience. Heartbreak followed in the wake of the storm. To have the work they love and the service they offer dealt such a severe blow in such a short time seemed to be a stunning setback, just at the time when the work of the mission is so critically needed. They realised that plans will have to be changed. Before there can be the dream of expansion, there will a necessary period of repair and consolidation.

It would be my prayer that the Catholic community in this and in other countries will learn of the disaster that struck St. Philips and become significantly involved in repairing the structures. This is a time for Diocesan leadership to come to their aid, and to demonstrate even in cash-strapped Swaziland, practical and physical help can be brought to bear, effectively and quickly. It would be nothing short of a disgrace, were the sisters to find themselves lacking in the support they deserve, and one can only hope and pray that this will prove to be an hour in which their will be the best and most generous expression of local Christian love and solidarity. Oddly and sadly enough, Christian churches are not always fast or first to dig their hands into their congregational or national purses, when funds are required, nor are they as ready as might be supposed to roll up their sleeves and get stuck into hard work on behalf of brothers and sisters in the faith, in spite of their being taught that there is no duty like the duty of loving one another, which is the essential badge of discipleship and in and of itself an essential witness to the world.

But even as I make these points, I know as I do so, that Sister Diane and Sister Barbara have not and will not allow themselves to be overwhelmed, nor are they sitting back and waiting for help to come from one quarter or another. Indeed even by the time I arrived at the mission they had somehow or another got a work force busy, and at a time of national holiday, had somehow managed to get men working on replacing tiles on the roof, and they were arranging to have as much made wind and water tight as they could.

What especially impressed me was the fact that shocked though they were by all that had happened, in no sense had they given way to despair, or descended into self pity. Indeed their primary concerns were not for themselves, but for the members of the mission staff who had suffered loss. Even in an hour of radically changed circumstances, these ladies had not buckled under pressure. They were evidently made of sterner stuff, and just maybe that sterner stuff has a name. It is called faith. It is faith that triumphs in adversity.

I am sure that these nuns have lived lives in which they have been trained in prayer and in meditation. They have spent years of their lives learning to trust God in all things, and this is for them an hour when the hidden life of devotion reveals its true worth, in the discipline of picking up the pieces and starting over.

And maybe we need their example at this special time in our own lives. As we have entered a new year, it will certainly bring us all kinds of storms to be faced. There will be days when our personal sky goes dark and we will feel threatened. We may have to face forces that are terrifying, and find ourselves having to face devastating times. Will we be able to come to terms with tough times? Will we be able to cope and to care enough to keep on going, when it would be easier to give up and cave in?

It would be my prayer that many of the readers of this column will remember the words of Jesus who called His disciples and still calls us to ‘have faith in God.’ Because faith- real faith- is not something that pays dividends in the good times. Faith endures. Faith holds us up, keeps us together even when our world is blown apart. Faith is for every circumstance, and like love and hope it lasts for ever.

By the way of you want to donate to the rebuilding of this orphanage you can phone the sisters on 602-2475 and ask for Sister Diane.

Pastor Ken Jefferson is pastor of the Mbabane Chapel, Makhosini/Ridge Street. The chapel meets for worship every Sunday. Youth Bible class at 9.30.am. is followed by Morning Worship at 10.30. The J team for kids happens at the same time and there is a crèche in operation for the very small children. You are warmly invited to attend this growing family church. Email revjeff@realnet.co.sz or phone 638 2290.

Apparently there is little or no insurance cover on most of the facilities, and to start the reconstruction process will involve the sisters in the hard work of finding funding to rebuild.

Rebuilding With Faith After The Storm

2008-01-02T20:41:00.000+02:00

We wanted to send word out to our worldwide community about the storm that hit us here at St. Philip's Mission.

On December 26th, at about 4 PM, a heavy rain started, followed by hurricane force winds, then a tornado. The storm was severe and did major damage. Among some of the damages: the roof to the house over our living room was blown off, we lost the whole kitchen to the children's hostel, we lost our maintenance and storage office, the roof on the girl's hostel was damaged and leaked and ruined bedding and other items, we lost a newly planted crop of chilies, etc. A lot of trees and debris were downed around the Mission so much that we could barely get around. We are estimating that the storm did about $30,000 in damages just to our facilities. Many of our community members in the area lost their homes, because the homes are not very strongly built in the first place. Electricity lines and telephone lines and cell phone towers were down all over the place, and it's been very hard to reach people. Miraculously, we haven't heard of anyone in the entire area that was hurt in the storm.

We are staying strong in spirit and just trying to find the continuous energy to deal with all of the additional challenging demands of cleaning up after the storm, on top of our already demanding healthcare and orphan care efforts. We pray for the homeless now and for the support and strength to rebuild to continue to provide love and care to those in need.

Blessings and love,
Srs. Barbara & Diane

Happy New Year- Profile of a Child: Hlekisile

2007-12-30T08:28:00.000+02:00

We want to wish everyone a very Happy New Year, and offer a story of hope and new life for the New Year about one child we care for.

This is Hlekisile. Hlekisile has one of the most tragic backgrounds of any of the children. Sometimes it's difficult to talk about the children's stories, but we believe it is important because it shows how a child can bounce back, and that there is a lot of hope for these children for brighter futures.

While her father was dying of AIDS, her mother was murdered, supposedly by the father's family- she was accused of "bewitching" her sister-in-law. Her father died 6 months later of AIDS. After that, the eight children in Hlekisile's family shuffled around between homelessness and the homesteads of extended relatives, starving and being severely mistreated.

We discovered the children homeless in 2006 on our home-visits. Hlekisile is the youngest, and she has some siblings in the hostel with her. She is 11 years old, and she is finally going to school. She is well-behaved and enjoys playing with her friends at the hostel. She is part of a dance group and a choir group.

Hlekisile needs extra love, care, and kindness, but you can see from the photos how she beams out a genuine light. We consider her a small success story because these kids are facing so much opposition in their lives- and just to have them go to a primary school is such a huge achievement.

Blessings and thanks to our wonderful community around the world for the New Year!
It's been said many times- but we see it directly- hope for the future is found in the light and love of the children of today.

Love,
Srs. Barbara and Diane

Christmas Gifts for the Children

2007-12-06T15:50:00.000+02:00

Photo from a Christmas party past

Last weekend we held our annual Christmas party celebration for the children at the hostel. The children are off visiting their homesteads now for their long break (6 weeks), and we check in with them often. (Read more about school breaks by clicking on this previous post: School Break Time.) Among some of the gifts we were able to give them at the Christmas party were bikes, soccer shoes, and watches.

Photo of a staff member trying out one of the bikes

Four of the older children in the hostel received bicycles that greatly help with transportation. These young people are getting older and beginning to transition to working full-time jobs and living on their own. (Read about one older boy's transition in another previous post: Siyabonga! Giving Thanks for Friends & Family.) Bikes reduce the time spent traveling from work to homestead, etc, which can be hours when you're on foot.

At the shoe store- one of our staff members shopping.

All of the boys received a brand new pair of soccer shoes. The grant that provided these gifts was from a private Italian donor who visited Cabrini Ministries, and the story is that he was talking to some of the children that play soccer, and one of them confided in him that the boys felt embarrassed that they didn't have proper soccer shoes when they would play soccer games with other teams that did.

So both the staff and the boys were thrilled this year that OUR kids could have something beyond what's just essential for basic living, and that is essential for fun and social life and making them feel non-distinct from kids on other soccer teams that we play. Every day, we try to keep life as normal as possible for these kids and for the 1000 patients we serve---and we are so grateful to our supporters who help us to keep doing that.

We were also able to purchase watches and skirts for all the girls. (Money for gifts goes pretty far in Swaziland, thankfully.) Our staff has really enjoyed being able to make the children happy, and at times like this, the children can feel like normal kids, and not just forgotten orphans. Such actions of love and generosity change these kids' lives forever.

Many blessings to everyone during this joyous Advent and Christmas season.

Love,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

Today is World AIDS Day- We Remember Thabsile

2007-12-01T11:08:00.000+02:00

December 1 every year is designated as World AIDS Day, and around the world, people take a moment to remember those who were lost to the disease, and also join together and advocate for progress in the fight against AIDS. The theme this year is "Leadership."

We'd like to take a moment to honor the life of Thabsile, a young woman who was one of our HIV/TB patients, who passed away recently.

Thabsile had a real desire to live. She fought for life every day. Her TB was so bad (one of the consequences of AIDS is high susceptibility to tuberculosis, and other "opportunistic infections") that she had to have daily injections of antibiotics. Our staff also fought to keep her alive- our nurses, with great generosity and without any extra pay, worked on Saturdays and Sundays, to go every day to her home and give her treatment.

When we first met her, she was living under a tree. She had no running water, or electricity (needless to say). ShelterBox provided her with a tent, and the Red Cross and World Vision were in the process of helping to build her a cement block structure. Also the medicines were helping her to rebound a bit, and the future looked brighter for her.

Our friend Menzi helped to shoot some video of one of our nurses, Simon, going out to visit her to provide her medicine. Before we were even able to share this video with the world, she has passed away. This is how we feel in regards to the fight against AIDS and TB sometimes- that the disease seems to still be one step ahead of us. That it takes even more effort to get one step ahead of it and save people's lives. World AIDS Day is an important reminder that there remains a real urgency for treatment, awareness, and prevention, and that we need to join together to lead and inspire other leaders in the fight against AIDS. We need to take bigger steps to get ahead of the disease and to stop losing precious young people prematurely, like Thabsile.

Click on the arrow to view the first video, of her homestead, and the second video, of her telling her story. (Her story is in Siswati- she tells of how she started to get sick in 2005, found out with tests that she had TB & HIV, and has been on ARVs and TB treatment since and is beginning to get better.)

Blessings,
Sr. Barbara Staley & Sr. Diane Dalle Molle

In the Spirit of Christmas Giving- A ShelterBox Photo Album

2007-11-29T09:48:00.000+02:00

Click on the square below to view a photo album of scenes from when the organization ShelterBox (http://www.shelterbox.org) visited our community in Swaziland. The photos show scenes of distribution of the boxes to needy families in our area, pictures of some of the homesteads that were damaged or impoverished, and various shots of implementing the equipment- like setting up the small stoves that are used for heat and cooking.

ShelterBox Visits Cabrini Ministries' Community in Swaziland

ShelterBox relies on generous donors and volunteers to provide special tent-packages to areas stricken by natural disasters or humanitarian emergencies, and the packages can provide a large family with shelter, tools, and emergency supplies. Read more about the ShelterBox visit by clicking on this link to an earlier blog post:
http://cabrini-ministries-swaziland.blogspot.com/2007/09/box-of-hope.html

You can see in the photos that the people in our community are very grateful for receiving these simple gifts.

As the Christmas season kicks into full gear, we want to remind you to let the spirit of the love and grace of Christ dwell in your heart and let it shine through your actions.

Blessings & love,
Sr. Barbara Staley & Sr. Diane Dalle Molle

Siyabonga! Giving Thanks for Friends and Family

2007-11-21T17:30:00.000+02:00

Happy Thanksgiving to our friends, family, and supporters out there! One of the greatest things about the holidays is gathering together with friends and family.

We in Swaziland feel grateful for having become friends with some United States personnel and other people working in Swaziland who are very supportive of our work.

One of these people is Scott Mooneyham, who is the Regional Security Officer for the United States Embassy in Swaziland. He is good friends with Thom Krauss, another great guy who has visited Swaziland (and is an Ironman- see his website www.empoweranother.org). Scott is involved with a project that aims to reuse the wood from the crates that large items are shipped to Swaziland in, to make furniture for schools and for other charitable purposes.

Above is a photo of Sicelo, one of our OVC kids, who is 19 years old, and currently in our "aftercare" program for kids who are older, but need help with learning job skills and finding a job before going out completely on their own. Sicelo has been doing work-study in our agriculture program, getting paid a stipend while learning maintenance and agricultural skills, for a year and a half. He lives on his homestead which is 3-4 miles away from our farm, but we've given him a bike, which makes the difference between a 10 minute bike-commute to work and a 1 1/2hr walk each way. He is planning to attend a trade school in Manzini in January 2008, and has shown a desire to learn carpentry. Scott has connected with Sicelo, and is looking into the possibility to get Sicelo a carpentry apprenticeship. It's great that our network is growing in such a way.

We're building some new staff housing on the Mission, and Eric Olson has been chipping in to assist with this project. His wife works for the Peace Corps in Swaziland, and he has a construction background. Eric has been coming out to oversee the building project, advising our head of maintenance, and generally offering great help.

Christine Stevens is the US Government's HIV/AIDS Program Coordinator, otherwise known as the PEPFAR coordinator for Swaziland, stationed in Mbabane. With US resources, PEPFAR is able to help support Cabrini Ministries' health care program. Christine is a great ally in our work to bring treatment to people with HIV/AIDS, and Cabrini Ministries has been chosen as a pilot site for an example of quality care at the community level.

Betsy Kummer is also in Swaziland with her husband who works for the Peace Corps. We have really enjoyed her friendship and truly appreciate her active involvement with our works. Betsy has made a beautiful video production of our works here that we will use in future presentations. The video features staff, volunteers, a ShelterBox distribution, and song & dance from the kids in the hostel (who always like to put on a show when they return from breaks). Click below on the arrow to view. (If you have a slower internet connection, you may not be able to view the video.)

Thanks to all friends and family for your love and support, and a deep Thanksgiving THANK YOU (SIYABONGA!) to all,
Blessings and love,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

Why We Are Here

2007-11-08T11:06:00.000+02:00

Many people have never heard of the small country of Swaziland. With all of the suffering all over the world, it is possible to wonder why we are working here in particular and not somewhere else. But there is very good reason- Swaziland is the face of a humanitarian emergency. This small country has the highest prevalence rate of HIV in the world according to UNAIDS- meaning 33.4% of everyone 15-49 has HIV. Also, in 2004, Swaziland had the lowest life expectancy of any country in the world- this means people are living to an average age of 31.3 years.

In these times with treatment for diseases like HIV and TB available, it is just unacceptable that people are dying at 30 years old. Imagine what it does to a whole country if all the younger generations only reach the age of 30. This is why we have so many orphans, so much economic instability and poverty and hunger, and so much disease. It is a vicious storm of related factors that comes on over years, and takes years to repair, leaving us in the midst of a full-blown fever-pitch emergency.

Photo: Eva-Lotta Jannson/IRIN/Red Cross - Swaziland still "stands to lose the next generation of human capacity"

A new report by researchers Alan Whiteside and Amy Whalley of the Health Economics and HIV/AIDS Research Division of the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa used the country of Swaziland as their example of how HIV/AIDS in southern Africa is indeed a "humanitarian emergency"- but unlike traditional short-term humanitarian emergency thinking, requires rethinking and a long-term response. Whiteside also makes the connection between falling social and economic well-being indicators in Swaziland with the HIV prevalence rate- basically, the more HIV in the country, the sicker the country will appear all around.

Photo: Eva-Lotta Jannson/IRIN/Red Cross - Maize production has more than halved in AIDS-affected households

Aid agencies like the UN's IMF need to change thinking from fix-gap short-term solutions, to longer-term real solutions. (It is suggested that perhaps this emergency state in Swaziland could have even been avoided with more comprehensive prevention and treatment interventions earlier...!) NONE of the southern African countries or multilateral organizations have achieved their goals of universal access to treatment medicines (antiretroviral therapy drugs-ART).

Fiona Napier of Save the Children in South Africa says that the impact of HIV/AIDS in southern Africa is "profound." Indeed, when we are sitting with our hostel children who have all suffered some form of loss due to deaths of family members, and we hear their stories and see the effects this loss has on the children mentally, physically, and emotionally, we can agree the impact is "profound"- profoundly wrong.

Despite whatever you may think of HIV/AIDS, when it comes down to it, it is a disease like any other that has afflicted humanity mercilessly over time. There may be no "cure," but treatment is available in the form of medicines that restore people to normal life. Still, people are not getting treated. Why are people moved to respond to immediate humanitarian disasters like a tsunami, hurricane, or wildfire, but not disasters that have been able to get out of control for too long- like HIV/AIDS here? This report tries to argue that this is a disaster with the same effects as any other...

Click on the link below to read:
IRIN article: SWAZILAND: Declare HIV/AIDS a "humanitarian emergency"

We can change long-term problems, though it might be more difficult than a short-term action. Real change is made through programs like orphan care (taking care of the next generation), health care (getting sick people treatment to restore their livelihoods), and agriculture and education programs. Forging a relationship with one child through sponsorship is a great and rewarding way to support the long-term change needed here. (A heartfelt THANK YOU to all our sponsors out there! More info about our sponsor-a-child program is here: Sponsor A Child in Swaziland)

A person needs food, shelter, education, health, and love, and they are all needs that depend on each other to be met, and none can be neglected. This is why we're here- in Swaziland, but also in the deeper sense- on Earth!- to help each other meet our needs, and be full, beautiful, healthy people.

Blessings,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

It's Gala Time!

2007-11-01T16:01:00.000+02:00

A week from now, the Cabrini Mission Foundation is holding its annual Gala in New York City. Click on the link above to find out more information about this event.

This year, the work in Swaziland is highlighted, and there will be a short presentation and slideshow given by Sr. Barbara.

Sr. Barbara is currently on a spiritual retreat and looks forward to seeing everyone that can make it to the Gala next week.

Inspiration: Stopping TB and Healing the World

2007-10-18T17:30:00.000+02:00

A month or so ago we had a visitor who has a long history with Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland. His name is Dr. Mario Raviglione, and he is currently the Director of the Stop TB program for the World Health Organization, stationed in Geneva. He’s Italian, and about 20 years ago, he was in the US doing his residency in infectious diseases at Cabrini Medical Center in New York. During that time, he came for three weeks to work in the clinic here at St. Philip’s Mission in Swaziland with our sisters. One of the sisters, who I believe was Sr. Raphael, said to Mario- "Now don’t go back to Italy and be a doctor and get rich, but do something good for other people with your medicine." He shared with us that Sr. Raphael was one of his inspirations to go into public health service.

About 6 months ago, he decided that he wanted to return to Swaziland to come back and see it, and wanted to bring his family with him, because he now has children that are between 15 and 22. So he got in touch with our superior in Italy and asked if Sr. Raphael was still there at St. Philip’s. She said, "No, I’m sorry to tell you that she has died, but you can still go there and visit." So he came to see us, and we took him out to see patients, such as one woman who we care for who needs daily injections of antibiotics to treat her TB, and he was very interested to see our responses to the challenges of increasing TB incidence in our area.

[World TB incidence. Cases per 100,000; Red = >300, orange = 200-300; yellow = 100-200; green 50-100 and grey <50. Data from World Health Organization, 2006. (Source: Wikipedia, "Tuberculosis," http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuberculosis)]

In particular, there is a growing problem here with drug-resistant TB. There are something like eight different classes of antibiotics for TB, so you start out with the lowest class. If the patient doesn’t respond, then you move up a level. Once you’re onto the 3rd or 4th levels, that is what is called "multi-drug resistant TB" (MDR-TB). There are some cases that aren’t responding to any level of drugs at all- called "extreme drug-resistant TB" (XDR-TB).

Diseases become able to combat medicines when there are mutations of the original disease, or if there are problems with compliance (taking the drug regularly as directed and with no interruptions). The same thing is happening with the HIV virus, and most people in our area with TB have HIV and vice versa. You can imagine how drug compliance problems are rampant in places like Swaziland that are battling with extreme poverty, lack of food and water, and multiple, complicated diseases requiring complicated treatments. So this is how you get your first-line medications, your second-line meds, etc… (these are terms used to describe HIV drugs). Only TB right now is up to 8 lines of treatment. And unfortunately, as you go up the levels, the drugs are more expensive and harder to obtain.
(photo: Mike Hutchings/Reuters)

[Read more about TB in Swaziland in another post on the blog: "The Tuberculosis Epidemic- Impacts the People & Places Struggling with HIV"]

It was good to have Dr. Mario and Dr. Rudolfo Russo here with their families. They have been great supporters of our work and are helping us draw up new ways to improve our TB screening and treatment procedures. And I think it's great how he was sort of able to come full circle with the Cabrini sisters in Swaziland.

I feel that right now, TB is a much more immediate threat to the health of all of us than HIV is (though of course they go hand in hand), because of the way it’s spread- if you’re talking with someone within two feet of them, saliva molecules can be passed- and because it's becoming so drug-resistant. Dr. Samson Haumba, the HIV-TB coordinator in Swaziland, and Elijah Dlamini, a long-time TB nurse from Good Shepherd Hospital, have both given our staff presentations on protecting ourselves while dealing with TB. We are scrambling to meet all the challenges and are in great need of protective measures like masks. There are no isolation rooms anywhere in the country and the hospitals are overwhelmed, so this woman who we care for, who is lying under a tree and can’t even sit up to feed herself, cannot be in a hospital because she will infect other people. Homestead visits like what we are doing with our home-based care program are the best solution, but it is still a lot to ask of community health providers to manage multiple, complicated diseases like HIV and TB.

Still, we do manage to care for at least 10 new patients each month, and we are able to provide complete care for those people thanks to our worldwide support. The heartache of such sickness can be soothed, and to see our patients get a second life thanks to receiving the healthcare they need renews my spirit and I hope the spirit of the world.

Blessings and love to all,
Sr. Barbara

A Box of Hope

2007-10-01T16:35:00.000+02:00

In early September, a few volunteers that are part of a wonderful organization called ShelterBox (www.shelterbox.org and www.shelterboxusa.org) came to Swaziland, and visited with us at St. Philip's Mission.

ShelterBox is a registered UK charity with groups in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and Southeast Asia that provide aid for disaster victims throughout the world in the form of 3x2x2 ft green plastic containers.

Inside each 100 lb container are such supplies as a rugged 10-person tent, thermal blankets, tools like a hammer and saw, a wood-burning stove unit, mosquito netting, water purification tablets, and containers of various sizes for water and food.

To many of us in the "first world," this looks like a list for a weekend camping trip. But the reality for many around the world, especially those in the midst of a natural or man-made disaster, is being without some of these basic items required for human survival.

In 1999, ex-Royal Navy search-and-rescue diver Tom Henderson came up with and developed the concept of deliverable shelter solutions, and since then ShelterBox has become one of the most effective relief organizations in the world. The items in the boxes are bought by donations to ShelterBox and distributed by Rotary Clubs affiliated with ShelterBox throughout the world.

Four volunteers with ShelterBox came to Swaziland because of the forest fires that were raging here in July. All in all, 110 boxes were distributed through Cabrini Ministries to our surrounding community, meaning that we did the assessment of who needed them the most, we and the four volunteers distributed the donated boxes in September, and we are continuing to distribute more boxes now after they've gone.

These photos are from volunteer Larry Agee of ShelterBox USA. Larry spent 2 1/2 days with us at St. Philip's Mission distributing boxes to our grateful community members.

Most of the families in our community that received ShelterBoxes were families of our kids in the hostel, or our healthcare patients, or the elderly. Basically everyone has thatch roofs, but some people have nicer thatch roofs, and some have thatch roofs that are very leaky or sparse. One man that received a box was living in a teepee-like structure of sticks where the diameter was only about 3ft and the height about 4ft. Another woman was living under a tree only, too sick to even sit up and feed herself. She is only about 30 years old, but has terrible TB and HIV. She received a ShelterBox.

People cried when they got them. They thought they had died and gone to heaven. For us it was also amazing the way we were two different organizations working together collaboratively for disaster relief. It's a new definition of disaster relief, because it's not Hurricane Katrina or the tsunami, but there is a disaster going on in Swaziland. I've seen this for a long time. But we worked together in a complementary way, because we can't really provide housing for all the people in our community that desperately need it, and the boxes are so ingenious that they are really some of the best housing people have in the area.

A big thanks to Larry and the volunteers from ShelterBox, and all our friends and supporters. A box- who would have thunk it? These are the kinds of great ideas that save the world!

Love,
Sr. Barbara Staley

Click on the link below to read more about this great organization:
www.shelterbox.org
www.shelterboxusa.org

New Video of OVC Hostel Children

2007-09-15T15:35:00.000+02:00

Technical challenges notwithstanding (!), we are happy to be able to share a bit more video with our international community out there.

Click on the square below to view some recent video of the OVC (Orphans & Vulnerable Children) kids playing at the hostel and hear the voice-over of a staff member.

From the video:
"So these children are the OVC children, in Cabrini Ministries’ OVC hostel.

"These are some of the few children who have been able to find mercy through the help of Mother Cabrini and all those that are part of [the works].

"Almost all of these children are orphans- they’ve got no parents. And, most of the parents, they die out of HIV and AIDS, including tuberculosis.

"When the Sisters came here, they had to go around the homesteads and they were able to fund some of the children to come down here. It’s not all of the children, but they do not have enough funds to care for all of the OVCs in the areas here. There are hundreds and hundreds of OVCs here, but they don’t have enough funds for them all. So these are the few who are fortunate enough to be in the hostel. There are about 100 and some kids.

"So we are thankful for these works and the works of everyone who has a concern for these children in the international community for supporting them materially, and even spiritually, and giving them hope… that it doesn’t mean that- if you don’t have parents, life is useless for you, but there is still life and hope after the death of your parents."

Love,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

School Break Time at Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland

2007-09-04T14:28:00.000+02:00

It's quiet here at St. Philip's Mission as all the children are presently on their homesteads for the school break time. They were in school until the last week of August. The school-year here is a year long, and the children have 3 breaks in the year: two three-week breaks and one six-week break.

We are very concerned about maintaining a connection between the children and their homesteads and remaining family members, and homestead visits reinforce those connections. We work with heads of households within local chiefdoms, gaining social acceptance for the Ministries as a "co-parent," caring for children with the permission of each orphan's extended family. Also, in order for a male child to keep his legal rights as a member of a tribal group, he needs to return to his homeland and extended family several times a year, and we help arrange those visits.

These girls are looking at their report cards.

When the kids go home, they take their clothes, they usually take food parcels (assessed on a family by family need, but probably 3/4s of our families need food, especially in the face of the current drought), if they need to take bedding, or medications, they do, but whatever they need we try to help them so that they are not a burden on their caretakers, and it reduces their risk of vulnerability. We help them pack up and drive them home. Once a week or so during breaks they come back to the Mission and check in and get supplementary food to take home to their families.

The staff also visits some of the children's homesteads to check in - sometimes five or six times to each homestead of the most vulnerable who live in shebeens (huts that brew and serve beer), or without adults, or who are in need of food.

While the children are away, the staff sometimes use the time to clean or make repairs around the hostel. The hostel staff all took one week off when the children left in late August. Our staff often work long 14 hour days, as there is always work to do, so they really deserve some time off! This week two staff teams will again begin home visits of the most vulnerable children.

When the children return, all are given an examination to make sure they have returned healthy and safe. Thanks to the Vitamin Angels organization (www.vitaminangels.org), we have a year's supply of deworming medication, which we give to the children when they return from school breaks.

Blessings & thanks,
Srs. Barbara & Diane

Life in a Changing Climate

2007-08-09T16:19:00.000+02:00

There have been several very difficult things affecting this community and this country lately. They seem to be all related- each situation causes the next, then all the situations complicate all others. Climate change caused by a variety of factors seems to be contributing to a long-term drought, and this has caused the worst harvest ever, which means people are hungry. When people are malnourished, it is very difficult for them to improve their health, well-being, and resources. As a country develops, with more people, jobs, and money, such signs of development as more cars, cattle, and land stress become factors that can cause climate change like this drought. This is a cycle that many other developing countries are battling with as well.

SWAZILAND: Facing Climate Change 7/20/07
A long dry spell has destroyed crops. Photo: Tomas de Mul/IRIN

The article linked to above (click on the title to read) describes how people in Swaziland are beginning to relate the drought and bad weather with several practices that create excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, such as field-burning.

People often set fire to their agricultural fields to clear for new crops, such as on sugar plantations and farms. The government is lax about laws against burning. In the past few weeks, the fires have spread out of control, and have been declared a national emergency in Swaziland.

Other factors that contribute to the excess CO2, soil erosion, and the desertification that causes drought are monocropping, people collecting firewood for cooking over open fire (most Swazis do not have electricity), deforestation by timber and paper companies, cattle and goat-grazing, and cars.

The number of car registrations in Swaziland doubled last year, though it still represents a tiny fraction of the population- because 70% of people in Swaziland live on less than a dollar per day. (The US is the biggest contributor of greenhouse gases in the world, with China catching up for first place.)

Swaziland: UN asks for $15.6 million to save 400,000 people 7/25/07
Swaziland faces the worst harvest in living memory. Photo: WFP/FAO

The article linked to above reports that 40% of Swaziland's people are facing dire food and water shortages.

Traditionally, rain would come from October to May, but temperatures have been higher than normal in the last 15 years, and rainfall has declined by 50%. There is drought in January, when the crops need it most- as they are ripening then. Food prices have thus inflated to be beyond the reach of even some middle-class Swazis. Also drinking water sources have been drying up, including the river nearest to Cabrini Ministries.

The people hit hardest by such conditions are children, the elderly, and sick people- which represents many people here.

Children are most vulnerable. Photo: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund

One thing that can break this cycle is renewable energy. This means not only for Swazis but everyone all over the world. The link below discusses an initiative in Swaziland to invest in renewable energy. The major hurdle to overcome for all of us with renewable energy is the initial start-up costs- it may be higher for hydropower, solar power, and biofuels, but these forms of energy often pay back in the long run, in many ways.

Swaziland: Start-up costs limit access to power 8/9/07
Bringing power to the people: a transformer being installed in the Manzini region. Photo: IRIN

Another thing that really makes a difference is the generosity of individuals that step forth to help. We want to leave you with some very powerful positive images of what that can mean. With the food we receive from the World Food Programme and what we grow and purchase through private donations to Cabrini Ministries, we are able to feed the OVC children in the hostel, and 800 HIV positive patients in the community (yes, that's right, 800 people!).

Our philosophy is to keep HIV+ people healthy enough with nutrition to keep their CD4 counts up (immune system cells), and keep them off of the need for antiretroviral drugs. I never really believed in all the 'health food eating' stuff to stay healthy- I wasn't necessarily a proponent of that and just felt like food was food. But I have to admit I saw people's CD4 count going from 300 to 400 in one month once they started getting peanut butter, Morvite (which is a tasty high-protein drink that people love here), and vegetables in their diets. We eat lots of spinach and butternut squash (see photos below), and we see people's CD4 counts go up.

Our farm, and the miracle of our irrigation project that makes things grow here, were all made possible by the donations of some generous individuals.

Blessings, love, and thanks to all our friends, family, and supporters,
Sr. Barbara & Sr. Diane

Johannes and the spinach crop

Tomatoes- do you like our stakes?

Themba with butternut squash

Our Bountiful Farm- A Photo Album

Click on the links below to read other posts about the drought, our farm, and irrigation:
Food Crisis in Swaziland
St. Philip's Mission Irrigation Project
Julie's Garden

One Glass of Cool Clean Water

2007-07-23T18:40:00.000+02:00

There is a little story that we like to share with people sometimes that makes us feel grateful and humbled.

We were out on a home-based healthcare visit at the homestead of one of our hostel children's grandmothers, who was very sick and about to die. We gave her a bit of medicine, and Sr. Diane happened to have a water bottle on her, so she gave some water from the bottle to the grandmother to wash it down.

All of the sudden, the grandmother had a huge smile on her face, and started to laugh and roll around in joy. She was exclaiming things in Siswati (the official language of Swaziland), and caused such a scene that we had to ask our staff to please translate what she was saying...!

They told us that she was exclaiming that that drink of water was the best thing she had ever tasted in her whole life- just the most wonderful thing. Because she had probably always had to drink river water, which was muddy, with sticks, sand and dirt, and always warm. So to have a clean glass of cold water was simply extraordinary.

She died shortly after that. We'll miss her, and we'll never forget her joy in experiencing one simple, good thing.

Love,
Sr. Barbara and Sr. Diane

Profile of a Child: Lomtsimba

2007-07-16T11:36:00.000+02:00

Lomtsimba is the youngest in a family of eight children. She has four older sisters that are also in the hostel, and three eldest brothers who are on their own with their wives. Lomtsimba is 11 years old and in grade 4.

Both Lomtsimba's mother and father died in 2002, when she was six. Her mother had been sick for some time when she was hospitalized, and the cause of death was due to a faulty IV drip that exploded while she was being treated in the hospital. Her father worked for a sugarcane tycoon weeding the fields, and also made traditional shoes. He was well known and well liked by the community, and rode all over the area selling his handmade sandals. The cause of his death is unknown, but he was suffering hallucinations toward the end of his life. (We often hear of the childrens' parents suffering hallucinations and emotional disturbances before an unknown death. Perhaps it is actually the dementia that is a very unfortunate symptom of late HIV or early AIDS that they are suffering. Fortunately, antiretrovirals, the medications for HIV/AIDS, can prevent dementia in HIV+ people.)

After her parents died, the girls had no adult guardians to go to, and were on their own. The eldest girl, Nobuhle (also now at the hostel), had to do all the cooking and watched over the family, at 13 years old. A neighbor kept seeing how the girls were, and he reported their situation to Sr. Anna Maria (who was here at Cabrini Ministries at the time). They have been in the hostel since 2002.

Lomtsimba is active and cooperative with her chores and loves singing and dancing. She is a member of the hostel junior choir and lead dancer of the Ummiso dance, which is a traditional Swazi dance for young girls, that involves stamping feet with ankle rattles and singing together. Lomtsimba even made up her own new song for the Ummiso dance.

She is also a member of the Kwaito dance group. Kwaito is like dance music or hip-hop in the US. It originated in South Africa and is a style that is expressed through music, dance, talk, and dress. Some Kwaito music is known for 'telling it like it is,' telling real stories of urban life that are sometimes very upfront. There are many Kwaito dances and the Kwaito group tries to collect and learn different ones.

Cabrini Ministries sponsors Lomtsimba for school (there is no public free education in Swaziland). She is doing OK. She is very good at crocheting and likes to make sweaters and scarves with her sisters in the crochet group. She's a beautiful child and we're very glad to have her and her sisters here with us.

love,
Sr. Barbara

Lomtsimba is the youngest, wearing the pink butterfly shirt

Our First Video: Feast of the Sacred Heart 2007

2007-07-03T04:32:00.000+02:00

We're pleased to be able to share with you some video of life and events at Cabrini Ministries Swaziland. Here is our first clip of the events in the church for the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

The Feast of the Sacred Heart is an important day for us as many of you know. The children enacted Bible stories, and everyone sang and prayed. Here you can hear some of the singing, as the girls are entering down the aisle in their traditional clothing. (Note the image of the King Mswati III of Swaziland on the cloth.)

A great part about this video is that you can see the girls are wearing the shoes that Jeff Scott and friends managed to get to us. (Click on this link to read the blog posting about the donated shoes: http://cabrini-ministries-swaziland.blogspot.com/2007/01/new-shoes.html)

The girls usually go barefoot in traditional clothes, but they truly love their sneakers so much that they really wanted to wear them to church. Thanks again to everyone that made that happen, and blessings to all our friends and supporters. We have more videos to post for you soon.

love,
Sr. Barbara and Sr. Diane

Click once on the center of the picture below to view the video.

Pediatrician-in-Swaziland Blogger Visits St. Phillip's Mission

2007-06-20T16:47:00.000+02:00

Ryan Phelps is a pediatrician from Texas who works in Mbabane, Swaziland with the Baylor International Pediatric AIDS Initiative.

He runs a great blog about his experiences living and working in Swaziland: "Pediatrician in Swaziland" http://pediatrician-in-swaziland.blogspot.com

He posts about seeing and treating children, the effects of HIV/AIDS and strategies to mitigate those effects, and the Swaziland natural environment, food, and culture.

On June 14, he visited us at St. Phillip's to share information about pediatric HIV/AIDS care. Click on the link below to visit his blog and see some of the latest photos of Cabrini Ministries- and read more of his great first-person accounts of practicing medicine in Swaziland.

One hundred and one Swaziland destinations- #9: St. Phillips

photo by Ryan Phelps

Article: Helping Orphans Help Themselves

2007-06-14T20:21:00.000+02:00

Click on the link to the IRIN article below to read about how learning farming skills is one way to help the growing generation of orphans and vulnerable children.

Swaziland: Helping Orphans Help Themselves

The Morning Fire

2007-06-12T10:05:00.000+02:00

In the morning, the boys make themselves a fire, and have “homestead life.”

All the boys sit around the fire and talk and hang out a bit together. They get up at 5:00 in the morning to do this on their own; they don’t have to get up that early, but they do, to make little fires and talk with each other as the sun slowly rises. It's a nice tradition for the boys.

Song and Dance from the Heart of a Culture

2007-06-06T12:39:00.000+02:00

Song and dance are a huge part of Swazi culture. The children we care for love to dance and sing.

Recently, a young man of the community had passed away due to complications from HIV/AIDS. Sr. Diane attended his funeral, and all the family and friends were just devastated. There was so much sadness in the room, but then, the pastor spontaneously started to sing. Soon everyone joined, and began to dance as well. The song was kind of upbeat and happy, but everyone used the music and dance to work out their feelings, deeply expressing the pain and suffering of the community, in such a powerful and positive way. To hear this song and see this dance was so moving and gave Sr. Diane and the mourners there great hope after such a loss. This is what music and dance mean to this culture.

We hope to be able to share the voices of the children with you soon, as audio clips on the Blog, so stay tuned! For now, click on the photo album below to see pictures of the children during their free time on the grounds playing and singing and dancing.

Song and Dance

Food Crisis in Swaziland

2007-05-29T01:10:00.000+02:00

According to the IRIN article below, Swaziland is experiencing its worst ever harvest, due mostly to drought, as well as erratic rainfall patterns and overgrazing.

"Swaziland: More than a third of Swazis in need of food aid"

Swazi people in the rural area where Cabrini Ministries is located traditionally made their livelihood as subsistence farmers, and the primary crop was maize (corn).

Corn, however, does not fare well in drought. In addition, the HIV/AIDS crisis affects the success of a family's agricultural endeavors. The disease affects the adult generation that is in the prime of their working years. Children whose parents are sick or dead from AIDS often do not have the skills to successfully farm by themselves.

Our Farm

We have five hectares (10 acres) of land that we are cultivating at St. Philip's Mission. We use the harvest from our farm to supplement the diets of the children at our hostel, the people we serve with our healthcare outreach program, and other children and families on homesteads. Our farm is a powerful symbol of life and hope for the community, and the children also help out on and learn valuable agricultural skills from the staff.

Our Dedicated Staff

You can see the red dusty earth in the background... but our crops are green because our sprinklers are working great!

We are proud to report that our irrigation system is working well and is the key to our farm being productive amidst the drought. As the heat ends and we go into the winter months, the crops are more abundant and the HIV patients we serve are receiving more fresh vegetables each week. Our butternut squash has been a real winner this year, and we think it is the best in Swaziland.

Our Food Supplies

We also receive food from the World Food Programme (cooking oil and a nutrient-enhanced corn-soya blend) and buy our food from the markets (thanks to our donors). We are seeing a great need for more food supplies in the area, especially for our HIV and TB patients. People taking HIV medications (ARVs) need to take those medications with food, or they will get sick. Unfortunately, one meal of mealie (ground corn) a day does not provide the sustenance they need to absorb and use well the medicines they are receiving. Our agriculture department is looking into what crops that grow well are particularly beneficial to people, and will help the most people.

Food Distribution: the Corn-Soya Blend from World Food Programme

Food Distribution: Greens from Our Farm

Many of the children, when they first came to live at the hostel, had been malnourished, and took a while to adjust to understanding that they would have regular food. They would often gorge instinctually, and we would have to tell them to slow down, and eat calmly and slowly and just enough. From not knowing when food would come again, the kids learned that when it did come to eat as much as fast as possible. Experiencing the pain of hunger so young, you don't forget it easily.

Younger Children Having a School Meal

Medications must be taken with food

Older children at the hostel eating dinner

Blessings and thanks to all of our friends and supporters out there! Together we form a circle of love which brings the living water of love to this dry area.

Srs. Barbara & Diane

Welcome to Our Blog!

2007-05-17T17:21:00.000+02:00

Welcome to our Blog. Though the word is still strange to us, many of our friends, including Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times who visited in June 2006, suggested that we start one. So, this will be a way that we (Sr. Barbara Staley and Sr. Diane Dalle Molle) and our colleagues in Swaziland can share with friends, family, and supporters.

We'll use this Blog to tell what days are like here, what's going on with the children, programs and projects like the farm, and how the community is faring. We'll also provide links to further reading about Swaziland and the issues we face here.

We'll also have links to the Cabrini Mission Foundation -- newsletters, pictures, and other updates -- and lots of photos of the children and life around St. Philip's Mission.

To get started, we've added posts to bring you all up to date on Cabrini Ministries and its work in Swaziland.

Join us in living the work. And do be sure to add your comments, and share this blog with friends.

Photo Albums: the Kids, the Farm, and the Staff

2007-05-16T17:22:00.000+02:00

We've got a lot of great photos to share with you.

Click on the squares below to view some of our photo albums.

Overview of the Cabrini Ministries' Work in Swaziland

2007-05-13T17:22:00.003+02:00

Cabrini Ministries
P.O. Box Mhlatuze
Swaziland, Southern Africa

The Missionary Sisters have been serving at St. Philip's Mission in the lowveld region of Swaziland since 1971. Today, they continue to serve at the mission running the health care services and outreaches, and boarding hostels or OVC children, as well as supporting the education program, agriculture program, and providing skills training. In recent years, efforts have been made to specifically respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Swaziland by expanding services to include:

OVC Hostel - established to care for the high rate of children orphaned by AIDS. Many of the children are compromised by malnutrition and chronic conditions such as TB and kidney disease. Children receive full room and board, as well as health care, and educational, emotional, and psychosocial support and other services. Children visit their homesteads and remaining extended family members often in our effort to keep them connected to their communities. Great emphasis is focused on nurturing the childrens’ Swazi identity.
Click on Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children to read more about the orphan care program.

Home-Based Care - Started with a grant from the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, the Home Based Care program focuses on caring for the sick and dying, testing for and monitoring HIV and TB, helping people begin treatment, and transporting people to the hospital to receive treatment.
Click on Health Care Outreach to read more about the health care program.

Education - The educational program began over fifteen years ago when it was discovered that many children in the homesteads were not in school and their families could not afford to send them. With the assistance of the Swiss Solon Foundation, once the children are on the foundation grant, their education is guaranteed through 7th grade if they pass. This increases their chances for individualized growth and better employment opportunities. A special tutoring program called the "Bridge School" program helps students study intensively to reach the grade level appropriate to their age.

Agriculture - In 2005, Cabrini Ministries established an irrigated farm. This project provides supplemental fruits and vegetables for the patients in the health care program and the OVC children in the hostel, and helps to create a sustainable income for those children and adults learning agricultural skills and maintenance.

Skills-training/Staff at Cabrini Ministries- Cabrini Ministries employs about 40 local Swazi people to help run all of the above works. Training is provided as well as income and other benefits for our employees. An aftercare program has also been established to help hostel children 18+ build the job and life skills and experience they need to take care of themselves as adults.

Health Care Outreach

2007-05-12T17:23:00.016+02:00

One of the two main works we do at Cabrini Ministries is Health Care Outreach (the other is Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children). We provide health care services to about 1000 patients a month.

Our health care program has received accolades for delivering high-level professional and comprehensive health care services to the St. Philip's Mission community in Swaziland. Especially when dealing with illnesses like HIV/AIDS and TB, we believe highly organized comprehensive care with a lot of follow-up and monitoring is the only way to make progress.

Our health care services include several distinct but interrelated categories:
* HIV testing, counseling, and treatment (HCT); includes ARV, CD4 programs and counseling
* Prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT); in collaboration with St. Philip’s Clinic antenatal care program
* TB screening and treatment; treatment done in collaboration with St. Philip’s Clinic
* Community education and support groups
* Nutritional supplements for adults and infants

*HIV Testing, Counseling, and Treatment
We provide blood testing services and counseling for approximately 100 adults and children in our community per month. This includes a test to find out if someone has the HIV virus, following up with results, and providing counsel based on the results of the test. We also monitor the CD4 (or T-cell/ immune cell) counts for HIV+ people via blood tests. The CD4 count of an HIV+ person is what determines whether they need medication (antiretroviral drugs or ARVs) or if their immunity is strong enough that they do not need medication.

There are about 450 HIV+ people that we administer ARV medication to every month. The drugs are provided by The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria. We keep detailed records for each patient in our health care program- this is very important in administering complicated treatment regimens like those for HIV and TB. About 10 new HIV+ patients per month have to go on ARV medication in our community.

*Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission (PMTCT)
One of our programs, in collaboration with St. Philip's Clinic, is called the Strong Mother/Strong Baby Program. There is a very high infant and birth mother mortality rate here and this program aims to provide pre- and post-natal education and health care for mothers from a nurse/midwife team. There are about 100 mothers & infants in the program. HIV+ mothers can give birth to and raise HIV- babies, but steps must be taken, such as taking PMTCT medication during pregnancy, and avoiding breast-feeding. We provide testing, referrals, transportation to the hospital for medication, formula, education classes, bottles, soap, candles and matches for sterilization, and other services as needed.

photo by Luis Maximiano

*TB Screening and Treatment
Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death in Swaziland, because the HIV infection rate is so high. TB attacks people with compromised immune systems. We have begun to screen every HIV+ patient for TB with a sputum test. We administer medication to about 50 adults and children per month for TB.

*Community Education and Support Groups
We provide walk-in community health education sessions twice a week for about 30 people each session. At these sessions- usually led by a Swazi nurse or Swazi HIV+ health care staff member- we review basic disease and health care education for HIV/AIDS and TB. We also provide HIV education at our monthly staff meetings. Support groups have formed naturally among HIV/AIDS and TB patients in the community education sessions.

*Nutritional Supplements for Adult and Infant Health Care Patients
We provide about 800 dietary supplement packages per month to our health care patients. Malnourishment is a serious health problem here because of drought and the lack of economic opportunities. (Click to read more about the drought, climate change, and the food crisis in Swaziland: "Life in a Changing Climate" or "Food Crisis in Swaziland".) We believe nutritional support is critical to comprehensive health care, especially because people cannot take medications or stay healthy and off of medications for HIV/AIDS and TB if they don't have enough food. The nutritional packages contain such items as fruits and vegetables from our farm, Morvite (a vitamin powder mixed into a drink), and a corn/soy blend.

Delivery of Services

Drop-in Center
At our drop-in center at St. Philip's Mission, staffed by nurses and assistants, we receive about 350 patients per month, for everything from HIV/AIDS and TB testing, treatment, care, and follow-up; to other, often secondary infections, such as skin infections, diarrhea and vomiting; and education and emotional and spiritual support.

Home-Based Care
For those too sick to come to us, we deliver the same services to them at their homesteads. We work very closely with the traditional system of the Rural Health Motivators (RHMs)- community members who are trained to diagnose people on homesteads and help get them to us for more care. Swaziland has a great shortage of trained doctors and nurses for all the people that need health care, so the RHM programme is a stopgap in place right now. We visit about 50 people on their homesteads with our mobile clinic and home-based care program.

To read about a typical home-based care visit, click on the post: A Visit to A Homestead.

Transportation to Hospital or Clinic
One reason why many people can't access treatment for HIV or TB is the lack of transport to and from hospitals and clinics, which can be miles and miles away. We transport over 350 people a month to hospitals and clinics for the services they need there in Cabrini Ministries vehicles.

Healthy patients help staff with the farm harvest

What Our Health Care Program Means For Our Community

We suffer about 5 deaths per month, usually all from HIV/AIDS. This is a loss this community feels so deeply. But for 1000+ people a month, the health care program means receiving health care services they need, and sometimes means literally receiving life. The health care program is a ray of hope and healing that we feel and appreciate here.

Also, the people that we provide health care services to in the communities around us are also often intimately connected with the orphaned and vulnerable children at our hostel- such as being the immediate and extended family members and very close neighbors of the children. With both our health care and orphan care programs (and education and agriculture), we aim for a continuum of community health in all aspects of the word.

Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC)

2007-05-11T17:23:00.001+02:00

One of the two main works we do at Cabrini Ministries Swaziland is Care of Orphans and Vulnerable Children, or OVC (the other major work is Health Care Outreach). The child care program was established in 2002 to respond to the HIV/AIDS and TB pandemics by caring for OVC and helping their extended families.

One of the most apparent effects of the swift spread of HIV in the community was the growing number of children rendered parentless. Children were taken in by relatives, neighbors, or in some cases were forced to fend for themselves. In 2002, a boarding hostel was established on the Mission in response to the local orphan crisis. The Hostel was to provide food, shelter, and supervision for many of the children who had lost both of their parents (often termed double orphans) and were living by themselves at a child-headed homestead or some other equally dangerous living situation.

Fifty children were originally admitted, with the number nearly doubling by the end of the first week. Many of those inaugural children still reside at the Hostel during the school year, with new intakes coming every January. We currently have about 120 orphans living at the hostel, many as groups of siblings as we try to keep families together.

The child care services provided by Cabrini Ministries extend beyond a roof above the heads of 120 orphans; the Hostel has become a home where local women provide these vulnerable children with loving care, medical services, balanced nutrition, school enrollment as well as educational enrichment activities, and assistance in strengthening and maintaining positive relationships with what family they have. In several instances, Cabrini Ministries has helped children find family they did not know existed, and in that way have taken an active role in restoring life for these children.

Many of these services have been made possible through child sponsorship facilitated by Cabrini Mission Foundation in the United States and Cabrini Health in Australia. Since 2002, individuals have also made annual contributions in support of children residing at the Hostel. We’re very excited to report that this year Mrs. Petronella Mamba Mnisi, originally from the Mamba kingdom, one of the three chiefdoms served, has become our first sponsor from Swaziland! It’s very rewarding to see such generosity come from within the community. We hope to see more Swazi sponsors to follow.

As organizational and paradigmatic growth has occurred, we have moved from speaking only of the Hostel to a broader label of Child Care. Over time, it has become clear that here is a need for expanding services to new levels of care, with a goal of providing psychosocial support to the children of the community. These extended services include providing educational sponsorship to over 100 children from the area, transition programming for Hostel children moving on to the next stage of their lives, and increasing assistance with legal documentation and other referrals. Acquiring legal documents like birth and death certificates – which are not automatically distributed in Swaziland – is vital for orphaned children to receive many of the services for which they are eligible.

Cabrini Ministries is seeking ways to expand support in facilitating these processes throughout the community. For example, the organization has begun exploring relationships with local caregivers of Neighborhood Care Points (NCPs – gathering points where orphans and vulnerable children receive a meal and supervision from volunteer caregivers from their area) to identify potential points of collaboration.

This expansion of services will mean good things for the children of the three chiefdoms served by Cabrini Ministries as we continue to act on our long term commitment to improving the life of each child. Yet it will be a slow process, requiring development of understanding and skill among the staff and organization as a whole. Hopefully it will mean the restoration of more lives, and increased hope for the future.

To read profiles of a few of our kids, click on these posts:
Ndoda
Khululiwe, Tanele, and Bonakele
Manuele
Lomtsimba
Hlekisile
New York Times reporter Nick Kristof's Kids

History of Cabrini Ministries at St. Philip's Mission

2007-05-10T17:24:00.000+02:00

From www.mothercabrini.org:

The Missionary Sisters have been serving at St. Philip’s Mission in the rural lowveld region of Swaziland, Southern Africa since 1971 at the request of King Sobhuza II and the Servite priests. Today, they continue to serve at the mission running the health care services and boarding hostels, as well as teaching in the school and providing skills training.

In recent years, efforts have been made by the MSCs to specifically respond to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Swaziland, expanding their services directly related to the pandemic which now include:

* Healthcare including home based care to HIV/AIDS patients,
* Care of orphans and vulnerable children,
* Provision of food and food supplements to the elderly and HIV patients,
* Education of the children in the homesteads.

Cabrini Hostel – The Cabrini Hostel was established as a direct response to the high rate of children orphaned by AIDS, who have been left without parents or with only one parent. The Hostel is designed to help all of its children stay connected to and rooted in the lives of their families and homesteads. Great emphasis is focused on nurturing the childrens’ Swazi identity.

Education – The educational program began over fifteen years ago when it was discovered that many children in the homesteads were not in school and the families could not afford to send them. Over the years, sponsors have helped support many of these children, but as the pandemic of AID/HIVS became increasingly pronounced, many more children needed support. With the assistance of the Solon Foundation, a Swiss foundation helping countries in Southern Africa with education, once the children are on the foundation grant, their education is guaranteed through 7th grade if they pass. Cabrini Ministries has been able to support 120 children and these children are now given a chance to grow as individuals, have better employment prospects in the future and become good citizens of Swaziland.

Home Based Care – Started in 2000 with a grant from Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation, the rural health initiative for HIV/AIDS education was established. The Home Based Care program focuses on caring for the sick and dying, testing for HIV; helping people begin treatment; transporting individuals to the hospital to receive treatment. At the present, Cabrini Home Based Care program serves over 200 people and is in operation 5-7 days a week.

Agriculture – The lowveld region is very dry and in the past 10 years has been experiencing a drought. In an effort to bring food to the sick, the elderly, and the orphaned children in the hostel, as well as the homesteads, Cabrini Ministries in 2005 established an agriculture project. This project provides water for drinking and food and helps to create a sustainable income for approximately 200 people in addition to serving the children housed at the hostel.

Download the 2006 Report

2007-05-09T17:25:00.000+02:00

Click on the link to download a PDF of the Cabrini Ministries Swaziland 2006 Report, to read about the concrete progress achieved in the various fields of activity in 2006.

Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland Special Report PDF

What is a Blog?

2007-05-08T17:26:00.001+02:00

"Blog" is a word that is short for web log.

A blog is a website that is maintained like a diary, with entries (or "posts") appearing in reverse chronological order, so the newest appears first.

The word "blog" can be used to refer to the website itself, or it can be used as a verb to describe the act of creating the website or posts (such as: "We will be blogging new and exciting stories on our blog").

Blogs range widely in form and content. Most blogs contain text, images, links to other websites or blogs, and an interactive "comments" feature that allows readers to leave comments that appear on the blog.

The only difference between a blog and a traditional website is that a blog tends to be updated and changed more often, and follows the style of an online diary.

SUBSCRIBING TO THE BLOG- PLEASE TRY IT!

Subscribing to the Blog is great way to enjoy it.

Subscribing is free and easy. All that it means is that you will get a short email in your email box when a new article is posted on the Blog. (We post a new article every 1-2 weeks- so you won't receive many emails.) It makes it easier for you to read the blog because you don't have to find it on the Internet every time. It will send you the article, like a traditional newsletter. From the email message, you can click through to view the whole Blog if you want.

Instructions for Subscribing to the Blog:

All you have to do is type in your email address into the blank box in the upper right corner of the blog, and click on the button that says "Get email updates."

You will be taken to a screen where you will see 1, 2, 3: 1) Check to make sure your email address is spelled correctly. 2) Type in the letters and numbers that appear as a security measure. 3) Click on the button that says "Subscribe me!"

You will then receive a message in your email to confirm your subscription. In the email message, click where it says "Click here to activate your account." This will take you to a confirmation screen, and you will be officially subscribed to the Blog.

If you ever want to unsubscribe, just send a message to admincabriniswaziland1@gmail.com.

COMMENTS

We always welcome and encourage comments on any of the articles on the Blog.

Here's how to make a comment:

At the bottom of every Blog article, you will see: "Posted by Cabrini Ministries Swaziland at (date and time) Comments"

Click on the word "Comments."

This will take you to the Comments screen where you can type in your comment in the blank box. When you are finished, click on "Publish your comment."

Your comment will then be available for people to read when they click on the word "Comments" at the end of the article.

Any questions about the blog? Please ask! Email: admincabriniswaziland1@gmail.com

People Involved with the Blog & Current Contact Info

2007-05-07T21:09:00.000+02:00

Sr. Barbara Staley, MSC, lives and works at the Ministries in Swaziland. Among her many duties, she manages the staff and oversees the functioning of the children's hostel. Sr. Barbara is the main voice of the Blog in Swaziland.

Sr. Barbara is reachable by email at: cabriniministries@yahoo.com

Sr. Diane Dalle Molle, MSC, also lives and works at the Ministries in Swaziland. Among her many duties, she manages the healthcare outreach program and is the Director of Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland.

Sr. Diane is reachable by email at: cabriniministries@yahoo.com

Erika is the technical blogger behind the Cabrini Ministries Swaziland Blog. Srs. Barbara & Diane, Erika, and others have helped build and shape the Blog, and continue to work together to communicate stories from the field through the medium of the Blog. Erika is the main contact person for the Blog in the US.

Erika is reachable by email at: admincabriniswaziland1@gmail.com

If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to contact us. Thanks for visiting our Blog!

History and Mission of the Blog

2007-05-07T17:26:00.000+02:00

HISTORY

The Cabrini Ministries Swaziland Blog project originated as a suggestion by Nic Kristof of the New York Times, who toured the Ministries in 2006 for a story about AIDS orphans.

We officially launched the Blog May 17, 2007.

MISSION

The Blog helps Cabrini Ministries stay connected with people all over the world, and features information, photos, and personal stories to share with the community about the issues and activities of Cabrini Ministries in Swaziland.

We hope to help share awareness of our work in Swaziland, so please help us spread the word!

Information About Donating

2007-05-06T17:27:00.000+02:00

If you are considering making a donation, here is some information that may be helpful:

Donating Money

If you ever want to make a financial contribution (which is the more flexible and easy option for both us and you), that can be done through Cabrini Mission Foundation, 222 E 19th Street, Suite 5F, New York, NY 10003. You can also click on the link below to donate on the Cabrini Mission Foundation website: http://www.cabrinifoundation.org/Donate/index.html

The contributions go through the Cabrini Mission Foundation so you can receive a tax claim. All you need to do is mark that the contribution is for Swaziland's non-restricted funds. Monthly contributions are what keep us floating.

Donating Goods

Our sponsorship fees only cover about 75% of the cost of keeping the children in a way that is dignified and as any responsible parent would do. You can imagine all the things we need for daily living and how fast we go through some things, because kids are kids, and in addition, both staff and children are on a learning curve about the care of their goods. If you've never had any things, you don't know how to take care of them.

Some of the things we always need are: underwear, black ankle socks, white blouses, blankets, pillows, towels, sweatshirts and sweatpants.

Multivitamins are also always needed. Each child gets one everyday, and we give them to our 600 HIV+ patients.

Also good to send: flip flops/thongs/sturdy rubber-soled shoes for the children to play in; sneakers, black loafers, or laced-up oxfords; and bras for our older girls.

Our children are ages 4-18, so we need some adult sizes. Also, we need a range of sizes for black ankle socks and shoes from very small to very large, since some of our older children need very large socks and shoes. (Swazis tend to have big feet!)

Other items: The older children like most anything; our kids are simple. I love the idea of educational games that are small. Recently I was thinking that it would be great if our kids could have cheap watches---I don't know what Timexes cost any more but they used to be only about $10....

Packages can be sent to:
Cabrini Ministries
PO Box 5183
Manzini, 100
Swaziland, Southern Africa

Packages take anywhere from 2-4 months to arrive and are costly to send, so the money donation is the most effective and flexible for us to use although we are grateful for whatever support we receive. In a package, if you enclose your e-mail address I will be sure to contact you to let you know that the package has arrived. Also, it is ESSENTIAL that packages be marked "DONATION FOR OVC's" (orphaned and vulnerable children) because otherwise they will have to pay a high import tax upon receipt.

Thank You

Thank you for your support and help. The only way we can continue our work here is with the help of people like you.

If there is any more information or anything you would like to know, please don't hesitate to write me. May many blessings follow you!

Love, Sr. Barbara Staley, MSC
bstaleymsc@aol.com

About Swaziland

2007-05-05T17:28:00.000+02:00

From www.cabrini-missioncorps.org:

Swaziland is a small country, bordered on three sides by the nation of South Africa. It is home to approximately 1 million people, governed by a king. It is a magnificently beautiful country with western mountains and big orange and pink skies. Women wearing colorful headscarves walk miles with gallon buckets of water and food on their heads. Lions, elephants, zebras, rhinos, and giraffes roam safari parks. Donkeys, cattle, goats, and chicken roam everywhere else.

Swaziland is also profoundly sad with poverty, starvation, water shortages, drought, unemployment, and no public education. Swaziland also has the highest HIV/AIDS infection rate in the world– it is estimated that over half of the people between 18 and 40 who live in the rural areas of the country may be infected.

On land distribution: Every male Swazi citizen has land granted to him and his family by the king, which remains in the family (unless the land owner is convicted of a crime). The owner must care for the land (neighbors may report him to the tribal council for neglect) and may return it to the local leader to request land in a new area. The people of Swaziland hold the land collectively so that an individual may not sell it, but is permitted to sell the produce of the land. For this reason, most Swazis feel very tied to their homestead and if they become sick, return to it even if they have moved to a city to work. This is why AIDS becomes mostly a rural phenomenon.

Life at St. Philip's Mission

2007-05-04T17:29:00.000+02:00

From www.cabrini-missioncorps.org:

St. Philip's Mission is in the most rural area of Swaziland, an hour's drive from the nearest city, Manzini. It is located in the lowveld region of the country. This community has been staffed by the Cabrini Sisters for more than 30 years.

St. Philip's is a growing mission, with a pre-K–12 school, clinic, tiny post office, and a small market where people can purchase such provisions as chickens, bread, candy, and car fuel. There is even a branch of the Swaziland Police Department at the Mission.

In the middle is the Mission's landmark: a stunning, domed Catholic church with tall pink clay steeples that glow at sunrise and sunset.

Photos of Swaziland Taken by Icelandic Musicians Sigur Ros

2007-05-03T17:30:00.000+02:00

Click on the link below to see Icelandic band Sigur Ros' photos of Swaziland, auctioned to raise money for UNICEF.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sigurros/sets/72157594377293373/

New York Times Article and Multimedia Swaziland Feature

2007-05-02T17:30:00.000+02:00

Click on the link below to read an article by Michael Wines and Sharon LaFraniere for the New York Times, and view the multimedia feature, shot in Lavumisa, a small town in Southern Swaziland, that presents a lot of the same issues people deal with in the St. Philip's Mission area. The original article was published in November of 2004, but unfortunately, the scenes seem the same as present times.

Hut by Hut, AIDS Steals Life in a Southern Africa Town

Photo by Jeffrey Barbee for The New York Times
Caption: Delisile Nyandeli rears her son and nine other children — siblings, nephews and nieces orphaned by AIDS in Swaziland.